Forever Loyal
by SasuSakuKawaii
Summary: She is in disguise in order to serve the man she loves. Even though she can't be with him her feelings keep becoming stronger. Rejecting him kills her inside but that is the only option she has in order to stay by his side as long as she can.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! So here is my new story! I was so excited to start writing this! I think this story would be very different from the others I have written since this one is much more descriptive. I hope my writing has improved because I know it sucked pretty bad in my other two stories! lol I hope you will enjoy it! =^_^=**

A young girl was awakened by the gentle chimes that hung on the porch.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes registered a white ceiling. She blinked as she slowly turned her head to the right and her eyes focused on the white shoji doors. She turned her head back and stared at the ceiling. She sat up and stretched her arms as she felt her back become less tense. She sighed as she put her arms back down.

She stood up and folded her futon neatly. She placed it into the storage behind the shoji doors that was located on one of the walls of the room.

Her room was simple. The color of the walls was light green. The room was almost empty. There were a few unrolled scrolls hanging on the wall with images of cherry blossoms, rivers, and mountains. A big red fan with cherry blossom branches and scattered cherry blossom flowers hung on the wall.

She undressed and neatly placed her sleeping yukata on top of the futon. She wrapped bindings around her chest making sure it was tight. She put on her black yukata and then her black hakama. She put on her white socks and black geta. She tied her light pink hair that almost reached her bottom into a high ponytail with a thin black ribbon leaving her bangs to frame her heart shaped face.

She grabbed a wooden sword that stood in the corner of the room as she walked towards the shoji doors. As she slid the shoji door open a light breeze hit her face making her bangs flutter. She gently slid the door closed and took in the sunrise. It was five in the morning after all. She always woke up at the same time everyday. She walked on the wooden floor of the porch without making a sound.

After she turned a few corners she reached one of her favorite places. Her training ground. Fresh green grass moved with the wind. Flowers growing among the the trees and grass. The tree's branches swayed slightly with its fresh light green leaves. This was also one of her favorite time of the year spring.

She stepped off the porch and walked towards a cherry blossom tree. She stopped in front of it as she took a deep breath and raised her wooden sword above her head. She swung her sword in front of her. Switching position and the sides she swung to. She always practiced her sword skills along with the others she had. But this one was the most important one.

As she swung her sword and moved swiftly around the yard making barely any noise as her feet carried her through the grass, cherry blossom petals flew past her reminding her of that special day.

'_Flashback'_

_A little five years old girl ran through the streets of the prospering village. Her short pink hair flew all over as she dashed towards her home with a big grin on her face. Her red yukata decorated with flowers and flowed around her making it seem as if her feet would leave the ground any moment. A white circle imprinted on the back of the yukata which was her clan symbol._

_She carried a small bag with vegetables in one of her small hands. As she reached her home she ran with unimaginable excitement to the wooden deck of her home. As her feet touched the wooden surface of floor of the entrance she quickly took of her geta._

"_Tadaima!" she yelled as she dashed down the hall and into the kitchen._

"_Over here!" a gentle voice yelled._

_The girl placed the groceries on the table as she ran off to where the voice came from._

_She reached the room and slid open the door._

"_Okaa-san! Otou-san!" she yelled with a big smile._

"_O kaeri nasai, Sakura-chan." the lady answered._

_Sakura grinned as she memorized the happy moment. Ayame Haruno. Her beautiful mother with long light pink hair and gentle aquamarine eyes. She was a kind and caring lady. Beside her sat a man with brown hair that was pointed in all of the directions. He had dark green eyes. Hiroshi Haruno. Her father. Was a great leader with generosity and braveness of a true leader. He was the oldest son of the leader of the Haruno clan. _

_A giggle disturbed her from her moment as she looked at the small child that was securely held in her mother's arms. Her smile brightened even more. The child was one year old and eager to explore the world. Yoshirou Haruno. Her little brother. His big aquamarine eyes that had a tint of green stared at her as his small arms reached towards her._

_She giggled as she took one of his small hands into one of her own and she gently patted him on the head as he giggled. She dearly loved her family and would do anything to keep them happy and safe._

"_Sit down, Sakura-chan." her father ordered as she happily complied and sat between her parents. Her father to the left and her mother with her little brother to the right. They were sitted before a small table which had several scrolls on it. There was one that caught her attention. A vanilla colored scroll with red tips and kanji characters written on top._

_Today was the day. The day where she would be introduced to her clan's most precious and important possession._

_Her father took the scroll which has caught her attention as he glanced at her._

"_Sakura." he said in a stern voice. "This is our clan's most treasured item. Since you are a member of the ruling family you will have to keep this safe. No one except our family and your grandfather has seen this scroll but anyone from the clan would recognize it as soon as they see it. If anything ever happens to your mother and I, you must keep this safe. You must keep this safe no matter what, even if it costs you your life." he finished._

_Sakura gulped. Feeling the responsibility weighing on her shoulders. But nothing would stop her from holding this responsibility._

"_Hai!" she answered in a cheerful voice as her eyes sparkled. _

_Her father grinned as her mother hugged her which was followed with a hug from her father._

"_Otou-san, can I see what is inside?" Sakura asked with hopeful eyes._

_Her father shook his head as he closed his eyes._

"_Not not. You will be able to see when the time comes." he said as he glanced at his wife._

"_But when is that?" Sakura persisted._

"_When you are older. The clan's leader will fully introduce you to the clan's council and the secrets will be revealed." he said._

_She still wasn't as satisfied. But at least she knew that she would get to see it._

'_End Flashback'_

She swung her sword to the side as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face.

The corner of her lip raised slightly at the memory.

She swung again as another memory appeared.

'_Flashback'_

_She heard a scream. Immediately recognizing her mother's voice she rushed into the house from the garden in the back._

_She heard loud crashes and dashed to the kitchen. She stopped at the entrance of a room that was located near the kitchen as she heard groans. Her eyes widened as she felt the hair on her neck stand up. On the floor lay two big men. One had blood on his head as she watched it gather around his head and the other's shoulder was bleeding. She also noticed a big gash on the latter's ankle._

_She heard a cry of pain and her little brother's cries. She immediately dashed to the kitchen. What she saw next made her heart drop. Her father's head and arm was covered in blood as he stood in front of her mother who held her little brother with tears and fear in her eyes. Her father was clutching his arm as he gritted his teeth. His sword at the other end of the kitchen. The room was illuminated in moon's light as most since the candle's had been blown off and somewhere on the floor._

_In front of him stood a man a few inches taller than him in a black yukata with his hair in a high bun. Next to him stood a man a bit shorter than her father in a dark purple yukata with short hair. He had a very big complexion. She noticed the muscles in his back flex as he stepped forward._

_She panicked. She was shaking uncontrollably and she felt perspiration ran down her neck and forehead. Her eyes quickly searched the room. She heard a groan from her father as she saw the taller man kick him to the floor as he landed near her mother._

_As her eyes landed on a knife that was laid on the counter she grabbed it without hesitation and dashed in front of her father._

_She held the knife with her two small hands as it pointed towards the man._

"_Sakura!" he father shouted. Fear evident in his eyes._

"_What are you going to do, little one?" the man with the bun asked while chuckling._

"_I will k-kill y-you!" she said with a shaky voice. She knew she didn't stand a chance against them but she had to do what she could. Realization hit her that this are her last moments and she should do whatever she can to save her family. Even if it would cost her her own life._

"_You're foolish child!" the two men laughed. _

"_You have beautiful women in your family. We will have some fun with them after we finish you off!" the with the bun said with a disgusting glint in his eyes._

_Sakura's eyes narrowed yet she felt her fear rise. She heard her father growl as he attempted to stand up._

_She barely realized what happened next._

_The man with the bun stepped forward as he started to raise his sword towards her. He grinned like a psychopath._

_A small black figure dashed in front of her as the man's sword was deflected with ease and his arm had an enormous gash in his arm. The man fell back while clutching his arm while shouting profanities. The black blur dashed to the shorter man and sliced his stomach and kicked him to the floor. _

_The figure stopped and turned around._

_Her breathing hitched and her heart started raising._

_In front of her was a boy with black spiked hair. He looked a few years older than her. He had very pale skin and was about two heads taller than her. He had striking onyx eyes that sparkled slightly from the moon's light. He wore a black yukata with a white rim at the collar. He slowly lowered his sword to his side. _

_Her small hands let the knife drop to the floor with a loud clink as the realization that they were saved hit her._

_She dropped to the floor as tears started spilling out of her eyes and her frame shook with small sobs._

_She felt a hand on her head and she raised her head._

_The boy stood in front of her with a small smile._

"_You did great. You are very brave." he said with a soft and comforting voice._

_She nodded her head as her lip quivered._

_A few men with swords in their hands dashed into the room and Sakura jumped._

"_Where are-" one of them was interrupted._

"_I took care of them." the boy answered. "But I think there are two more in the house." he said as he stepped away from Sakura. She immediately missed the comforting hand._

_The man nodded as he turned his head to the left as a signal. A few men immediately dashed into the hallway to explore the house._

_The boy started walking out while a few more man came in._

"_W-Wait!" Sakura shouted._

_The boy stopped and turned his head back to look at her._

"_W-What is y-your name?" she asked with a hint of hope in her voice._

"_Sasuke Uchiha." he answered with a small smirk as he turned and left the room._

"_End Flashback"_

_She slightly smiled at the memory as she felt a familiar clench in her heart._

_She was interrupted from her thoughts as a voice called out._

"_Tadashi-kun!" a female voice called out._

_Sakura turned around._

"_Hai?" she asked._

"_You are training again. You shouldn't force yourself so much. I just wanted to tell you that breakfast will be ready soon and you should go take a bath." the lady with short black hair and black eyes said._

"_Hai, Shizune-san." she answered as she walked towards her._

__

She dried herself up with the thin white towel. She let it fall to the floor as she reached for the neatly folded clothes in one of the square shelves.

She put on her undergarments and made sure to tighten the bindings around her chest. Afterwards she put on her light blue yukata and white hakama. She dried her hair with a small white towel. She brushed her hair with her fingers and afterwards tied it up in a high ponytail with a white ribbon. She looked in the mirror that was located to the right of the multiple shelves and made sure she looked presentable.

She dropped the used towels into a basket that stood on the floor. Taking a bath after training sure was a nice thing. She reminisced how her slightly stiff muscles relaxed in the water of the hot springs. She headed towards the shoji doors and quietly exited and slid the door shot as she headed towards the kitchen. As she neared the kitchen she could smell the rice.

As she entered the kitchen she saw Shizune placing bowls of rice with fish. She made her way to help her.

"I am sorry for not helping you with breakfast, Shizune-san." she said with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry Tadashi-kun! This is easy and you know perfectly well that I love to cook." Shizune answered with soft laughter.

Sakura smiled a barely visible smile. She always enjoyed Shizunes food. Shizune also taught her how to cook. She would always say that she had surpassed her and that she made the most delicious food she had ever eaten. When she cooked her food always came out different and tasted different compared to Shizune even though she is the one who taught her.

As Sakura placed the last bowl on the table a figure dashed towards her and hugged her around her waist. Sakura wasn't surprised. She had felt his presence second before he appeared.

"Good morning, Sakura-chaaaaaaan!" the boy shouted.

She frowned slightly and lightly smacked him on the head.

"Itai!" he shouted.

"Yoshirou! How many times have I told you not to call me that! You are not a little kid anymore! You are a fourteen year old boy who will soon become a man!" she scolded him with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Gomen gomen! But today is a special day and I really wanted to call you by your real name." he said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Her eyes softened the corner of her lip slightly raised up as she pulled him into an unexpected hug. She cradled his head to her chest and petted his shaggy brown hair that looked just like their father's hair. His widened eyes softened as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She hadn't shown as much emotions as any regular girl would but she always showed affection towards him. They were very close. More than any one would think or imagine. She was his everything and he was her everything.

"You're such a good boy, Yoshirou-kun." she said as she let him go.

He grinned quickly dashed towards the food. He sat on the floor. His legs folded beneath him as he sat on a flat pillow and rubbed his hands together as his eyes glinted with hunger.

Her face returned back to its blank mask yet her eyes seemed to give away her emotions at times. "Don't eat yet. We have to wait for Tsunade-sama." she said calmly knowing that he would follow her order.

"There is no need to do that." a voice came from the doorway and Sakura immediately turned around and bowed slightly.

"Good morning, Shishou." she answered.

"Good morning, Tadashi, Shizune and Yoshirou." she answered with a small smile as she moved towards the table and motioned for everyone to sit down.

Everyone at the table put their palms in front of the chests as they clapped their hands together and said a quick 'Itadakimasu' in unison.

Tsunade. The master of this beautiful house. A great and giving healer. She was known for her amazing skills in healing all over the country. She is also Sakura's mentor, a mother figure, and a person she greatly admired and looked up to. She saved her life life. Literally.

As everyone finished the food Sakura poured green tea into the small cups that were placed on the table. As she poured the hot liquid her mentor eyed her as she took a sip of her tea.

"Tadashi. Are you prepared?" she asked as she lowered the cup from her peach colored lips.

"Hai, Shishou." she answered instantly.

"When are you heading out?" her mentor questioned as she took another sip of her tea.

"After we finish eating. I need to grab my belongings." she answered as she sipped her own tea.

"Are you going to visit them?" Tsunade asked as she eyed her carefully.

Shizune's and Yoshirou's eyes instantly shot up to look at Sakura. They eyed her with concern.

"Hai." she answered calmly. Her face blank and composed as usual.

Tsunade let a sigh escape her lips.

"Sakura." she said. Sakura's eyes instantly shot up to meet her mentor's worried amber eyes. She barely ever called her by her name.

"You have been through a lot in your short life. You grew up much faster than you should have. You experienced things that no one of your age should." she sighed once more as she continued. "We are always here for you and we are your family. Never forget that. You are strong and you have worked hard for ten years as my student and you have gone beyond my expectations. You have surpassed the Legendary Samurai." she said as she chuckled at the last part. "You two are going to pass." she said with a smile.

"Hai, Shishou!" Sakura answered with gratitude in her eyes. A small smile appeared on her face. She seemed to smile more in the last few months Tsunade noted. She guessed today's long awaited event was the reason.

"You should get ready, Tadashi-kun." Shizune said. "Do you need any help?" she asked.

"No, thank you. But thank you for yet another delicious meal. I will greatly miss your cooking." Sakura answered with a small smile. Her eyes glinted with amusement when Shizune's cheeks slightly turned pink.

Sakura glanced at Tsunade as she nodded her head in approval that she could leave.

"Yoshirou-kun, finish up quickly and gather your things." Sakura said as she exited the kitchen and headed to her room.

"Hai!" he answered as he hurriedly drank his tea.

"She really has grown up." Tsunade said with a sad smile but with proudness in her eyes.

Sakura entered her room as she slowly surveyed the room. She had spent countless nights studying the scrolls her mentor had given her. She had physically trained for years and had dropped onto her futon without any strength left in her body. It had been tough but it had paid off.

She came towards the enormous fan that hang on her wall and stopped as she looked at the light pink cherry blossom petals that decorated the fan. Without taking her eyes off she fan she swiftly kicked one of the boards on the floor and it quickly sprang up. She looked down and gently reached for the object that was under the wooden floor board. She put the board back to it's place as she stood up and glanced down at the object. In her hand she held a sword that was safely located in it's black case. She felt the leather handle of the sword. The sword was a gift from her father when she was just a little girl. She always had an interest in swords. She remembered how much she wanted to start practicing with the sword yet her small and unexperienced hands could barely lift it.

She had gained muscles throughout the years from the hard and strict training from her mentor. She could now easily hold the sword with one hand. It almost felt as if she held a knife in her hand. She strapped the sword on the right side of her waist making sure it was secured in place she slightly tilted the enormous fan towards herself and took out some kunais and sendbon needles. She placed the kunais on a strap around her right thigh and hid the senbon needles in the sleeves of her yukata which had special compartments made especially for weapons.

After she was done she headed towards the shoji doors as she grabbed a bag with clothes and her other belongings. Before leaving she looked over her room one last time as she slid the shoji doors shut. She headed to the garden where she had trained early in the morning. After reaching the garden she headed towards the cherry blossom tree and kneeled before it. She dropped her bag beside her.

"Yoshirou, could you make some fire?" she asked feeling her brother's presence.

"Hai, onii-san." he answered calmly. Yoshirou came towards her and made fire on the grass. Adding some small pieces of wood to the small burning fire.

Sakura felt the presence of Shizune and Tsunade behind her. She could feel her mentors intense gaze on her back. She knew she had to do this. This needed to be done for her and her brother's safety.

She quickly took out a kunai out of the left sleeve of her yukata. Shizune watched with worried and sad eyes. Tsunade's gaze slightly intensified as her gaze also saddened. Yoshirou watched Sakura with worry.

Sakura grabbed the top of her ponytail sliding her hand backwards until she was satisfied with the length. She closed her eyes as she swiftly brought her right hand up and cut through her hair. Her brother watched with sad eyes. He knew how much her hair meant to her even if she didn't show it. She always took great care of her hair.

Sakura glanced at the hair she held in her hand. She murmured a silent apology as she threw her hair in the fire. She watched as the flames devoured her precious hair. She stood up as the smell of burning hair reached her nose.

"Shizune-san, I don't want to be a bother to you but could you please clean this up?" Sakura asked.

"O-Oh sure! No worries, Tadashi-kun!" she answered as she snapped out of her daze.

"We should be going now, Yoshirou-kun." she said as she headed towards Tsunade and Shizune.

As she stepped up onto the wooded porch that went around the whole house she stopped. Shizune sniffed slightly as tears slid down her cheeks. She quickly glanced around and afterwards enveloped Sakura in a hug. "Take care, Sakura-chan." she murmured quietly. "I will." Sakura replied as she hugged her back. After she was released from the hug she looked at her mentor.

She did not expect what happened next. Tsunade enveloped her in a warm hug. Sakura's eyes slightly widened from shock. "Good luck, Sakura-chan." she whispered with affection. Sakura's eyes softened. "Hai, shishou." she answered as they separated.

"Heeey! How come he is the only one who gets all the affection? Not fair." Yoshirou exclaimed as he folded his arms with a childish pout on his face yet his eyes glistened with playfulness.

Shizune giggled as she enveloped him in a hug. Yoshirou grinned as she let go. They headed towards the gate of the house. After reaching the gates Yoshirou and Sakura turned to bid their goodbyes. "Good luck, kiddo. Take care of your aniki." Tsunade said with a smirk as she ruffled Yoshirou's hair. "I will, Tsunade-sama." he answered with a grin.

"I think you are forgetting something, Tadashi-kun." Shizune said with amusement in her eyes. Realization hit Sakura and she was about to sprint back to the garden. "No need to do that." Shizune said with a smile as she handed Sakuar two small cherry blossom branches. "Arigatou." Sakura replied.

She hoisted up the bag on her shoulder as she held the flowers in her left hand. "We'll be going now." she said as she turned around to start walking. "Ja ne, Shizune-san, Tsunade-sama." Yoshirou shouted with a grin. "Do your best!" Shizune shouted with a smile as she waved her arm. "Sayonara." Sakura said as she waved her hand slightly. "I'll see you soon." Tsunade said with a smirk.

****

Sakura and Yoshirou walked through the streets of Konoha. People greeted them with smiles wishing them both good luck. They were both well known in the area they lived in. After all they saved countless people from being robbed, raped, or even killed. They were their heroes you could say.

Sakura's head felt so much lighter after cutting off her hair. She almost felt as she was a little girl again. She would have kept her long hair if she had a choice but she wouldn't risk exposing herself.

"Onii-san, we're here." Yoshirou said with a calm voice as he worriedly glanced at her.

Sakura nodded as she entered the cemetery.

As they reached the graves of the people that were dearest to them they stopped.

Sakura and Yoshirou bent down and sat down with their legs tucked underneath their bottoms as they brought their hands in front of them and put them together.

They sat in silence with closed eyes as the gentle spring wind moved their hair.

They prayed for their loved ones that had left them too early.

Sakura opened her eyes and placed the cherry blossom flowers on their parent's graves.

"Otou-san, okaa-san." she gritted with a sad and gentle smile.

Yoshirou stayed silent next to her.

"Gomenasai, okaa-san." she said quietly as she touched her hair that was short now.

Her mother always wanted for her to have long hair but she only saw her with short hair when she was a child. She didn't get to see her long and beautiful hair. But Sakura was sure she was watching her from the heavens.

"Otou-san, okaa-san, Yoshirou-kun and I will make you proud today. Please watch over us." she said as she stood up glancing at Yoshirou.

As he stood up she enveloped him in a warm hug.

"I will take care of you." she said as he returned her hug. He was her everything from the moment their parent's left them. On that day she promised herself that she would protect him no matter what. He was her most precious person.

As she let him go she smiled at him.

"Let's show them what we got." she said. His eyes widened. She smiled a true smile once again. He grinned back at her. "Hai, onii-san." he said.

They walked towards the exit of the cemetery. Sakura's eyes lit with determination.

Today was the day that she had waited for ten long years.

Today she would fight to become one of the soldiers of the police force.

She trained so long and worked so hard.

Today she would finally see him again. Her hero. The one that gave her those wonderful few months to spend with her dear parents that she loved so much.

Today she would finally see him. The one she fell in love with from the moment she saw him.

Sasuke Uchiha.

****

**Oh my god! I can't believe I finished the first chapter! It took me so long! But I am so glad I finished the first chapter! The other chapters won't be this long. Well, maybe some? he he he I know this one is long and probably confusing. But everything will be revealed in the chapters to come so don't worry. Please review and tell me what you thought! I will probably update in two weeks. Not sure yet since I am busy with school but I am on spring break right now so I might update earlier! Oooh I am so excited for your reviews! Ja ne! =^_^= **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone for your awesome reviews! I got so inspired and excited that I couldn't start writing! I knew I probably bored you out of your minds with the first chapter since it was so long and dragged on and on. But I HAD to get all those things in there! So I am sorry if you felt like you were going to fall asleep. I hope other chapters don't come out like that one. I think this chapter will be more entertaining and I hope it makes you laugh! Enjoy! =^_^=**

Yoshirou walked with his arms behind his head with a huge grin on his face.

He glanced at his sister. She had a calm and composed expression on her face as always. Her posture straight and her head raised up. He frowned slightly. "Nee, Onii-san?" "Hmm?" she answered. "Are you excited?" "Hai." she answered. "I am so excited! We'll beat those weaklings." he shouted as he pumped his fist in the air making by passers look at him. "We don't want all the attention on us. Do we?" she asked as she glanced at him with a strict expression. "G-Gomen, onii-san." he answered. He got slightly scared when she looked at him like that. But this look was nothing compared to what he had seen before. Some of her looks could kill.

"Yoshirou, never underestimate your opponent. I thought Shishou and I taught you better than that." she said as she looked ahead seeing the gates of the Uchiha compound. "Hai, but-" he was cut off by her. "There are no buts Yoshirou. When they choose their soldiers they choose the best and most skilled ones. They are going to give you a strong opponent to test your skills." she lectured. "Hai." he answered as he also saw the gates and his eyes lit up with excitement.

The gates were very tall and connected to the wall that was built around the whole complex. The Uchiha's were the second leaders of Konoha after the Hokage. Konoha was one of the safest villages but that didn't mean that there was no crime. It was prevented most of the time because of the Uchiha's skilled police force. They are well known for their strict teachings that made them have incredible and strong soldiers. The Uchiha compound was humongous. At least, that's what she her from her mentor when she came back from the gatherings that were held at the compound. Some people from different clans also lived in the compound since they were an important to the Uchiha clan's leaders or they were simply the most skilled soldiers. Which earned them the life with the Uchiha's.

As they came to the gates one guard was positioned on each side of the gate. They were tall compared to Sakura and Yoshirou. Making them look like little kids.

"What do we have here?" one of the guards asked as he gave his parter a glance.

"We are here to fight to be selected into the police force." Sakura answered as she looked up at the guards.

The guards looked at each other and bursted out laughing.

Yoshirou growled as he clenched his fists.

"N-Nice one. Haven't laughed so much in a while. The fights are for men not for little kids." one of the guards answered while trying to contain his laughter.

Yoshirou gritted his teeth as he looked at his sister. She looked at him and nodded her head. He grinned as he reached for the sword at his side. As he took it out of its holster he firmly held it with both hands as he brought it up in front of him.

"Be careful, kid. You might hurt yourself. Where did you get that sword. You should be playing with wooden swords instead." the other guard said as he bursted out laughing.

"Or better go help your mother with the groceries." the other answered.

Yoshirou was shaking at this point.

Sakura gently put her hand on his shoulder making him look at her.

"Calm down, Yoshirou. It's okay." she said. Her voice sounded much deeper than usual. He hadn't heard her gentle voice in so long. He missed it a lot.

He stopped shaking and he dashed towards the guards. He moved fast as noises of a sword slicing through cloth was heard. He stopped and grinned at the guards. The next thing they knew their uniforms fell to the ground in shreds. Their faces got very red as they tried to cover themselves.

"Who is the man now?" Yoshirou asked with a smirk.

Sakura sweat dropped as she closed her eyes. So much for the guards being skilled. More like two baboons with sticks.

They heard a whistle from behind them.

"Nice one, kiddo." a man from behind them said.

Sakura turned her head as she observed him. The man was tall with white hair that almost reached his shoulders. He had a toothy grin in his face and his teeth looked very sharp. His eyes were purple which was very uncommon. He wore a purple yukata and a white hakama. A big object which looked like a sword was on his back.

"You are here for the fights?" he asked as he looked at Sakura. She nodded as she turned back to look at the gates. The guards had disappeared.

"I guess we are free to go in." the white haired man said with a grin. "I am Suigetsu by the way." he said as he looked at Sakura with questioning eyes.

"Tadashi." she answered as she entered the gates. "I am Yoshirou. Nice to meet you." Yoshirou answered with a smile.

"I see your friend isn't much of a talker." Sugetsu commented as he looked at the back of Sakura's head.

"Yeah, onii-san usually keeps to himself." Yoshirou answered.

"You're siblings?" Suigetsu questioned in disbelief.

"Hai." Yoshirou answered.

"You don't look anything alike." he said as he looked over Yoshirou.

"You're pretty small for a guy. You almost look like a girl to me." he said quickened his pace and walked next to Sakura. She didn't even look at him.

"Fine, be that way." he answered with a huff.

As they walked in through the second gates they saw a big space to the left which was surrounded by at least thirty men.

A guard came up to them. "Are you here to fight?" he asked skeptically as he looked at Sakura and Yoshirou. As they both nodded. "He is supposed to enter the younger section." Sakura answered. The guard nodded as he called for another one telling him to take Yoshirou to the other section. "Good luck, Yoshirou-kun." she said with warmth in her voice that went unnoticed by the others as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Good luck to you too! Show them what you got!" he said with a grin. She nodded her head as the guard lead him away.

The other guard motioned for them to follow they reached the place where all the other men were standing they heard shouts. As they turned their heads to the left they saw a tall man with dark hair standing on the porch of the compound with two guards that were at the gate shouting and pointing at her.

The other guards surrounding the tall man motioned for them to come. Suigetsu looked at her as she started walking and he followed her. As she saw the man's face up close she almost gasped. He looked so much like him. She knew it was not him because he looked much older than he should and she noticed that his eyes were more distant and colder.

She slightly shook her head as she stopped in front of the man. She felt slightly uncomfortable under his gaze but her face showed no emotion. One of the guards shouted as he pointed at her "It's him! The little brat that was with him did this to us." "And you called me because?" the tall man questioned. "W-Well they look like kids. They shouldn't be here." the other guard answered as he looked at his superior.

"How old are you?" he asked looking at Sakura. "I am 18." she answered as she evenly looked back at him. Any uneasiness that was present leaving her immediately. "I don't see a problem here then." the man answered as he turned to leave. "B-But he-" one of the guards was cut off. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I thought you two knew better than to do that." he said with a cold voice as he looked at the guards and left.

Sakura just blinked as she looked at the space where the man was standing. She turned around and headed back to the crowd of men as she heard the guards cursing at her. '_Fools.' _she thought.

She looked at the porch of the house once she noticed that everyone had quieted down and were looking in that direction. She saw the same tall man from before clearing his throat. "It's nice seeing so many brave volunteers. You should do your best at the match and show us what talents you have. I, Itachi Uchiha and my brother, Sasuke Uchiha, will be announcing the volunteers that passed the match and will be trained to become one of the soldiers of the police army. Please, do your best." he said. He then turned around and sat down on a mat that was placed on the wooden porch of the compound.

Everyone quickly lined up as a soldiers ordered to get in the line. Suigetsu was oddly quiet. She turned to look at him and he grinned in return. She focused her attention on the figure that stepped onto the empty ground. "My name is Sai and I will be your opponent." he said. Sakura carefully looked at him. He had very pale skin and short black hair with black eyes. He wore an all black attire and had a sword strapped to his waist. He had a calm and unreadable expression on his face.

The soldier at the beginning of the line motioned for the first man to go in front of his opponent. As the fight began she took notice of every movement Sai made. She looked for his weaknesses and for his strength. His speed was fast but much slower than she was she noted. He had a great control of his sword and beat each opponent with ease.

So far he had beat 15 volunteers and the first match had began only 10 minutes ago. He was strong as she had anticipated but the opponents that he was fighting with were much weaker and badly skilled. Her turn would soon come. She had a few more people before her. She was not nervous at all. She was excited. She hadn't had any fighting partners except her mentor, Yoshirou, and Jiraya-sama who was her mentor's childhood friend and a huge pervert.

She heard a shout and she quickly came back to her senses. The man that had been standing at the beginning of the line and telling the volunteers to go had called her. She looked at Suigetsu.

"Good luck, girly." he said with a grin.

She scowled slightly as she turned and walked to face her opponent. She stopped a few yards away from him and observed him. His composer was very calm and he stood there like he hadn't just fought with 20 men. Well, they barely had any skill but you still would have been panting if you raised the sword as many times as he did.

"Too scared, ugly?" he said with a smile. A fake one she noted. So that's how he did it. He insulted his opponents and they launched at him with anger. A person's attacks are usually predictable when they are angry. She blinked and waited. Her composure calm which surprised her opponent.

"Interesting." he murmured as he observed her. The young boy before him was much smaller than him. In height and in size. This one was different. He was either a better fighter than the others or was just plain stupid. He didn't react to his rude comment though which did surprise him. Sai glanced over his shoulder as his eyes met with Itachi's and then traveled to the figure that was sitting next to him. He afterwards looked back at the boy before him and smiled one of his fake and fooling smiles.

He quickly dashed towards the boy while unsheathing his sword. As he neared the boy and was less than a meter away he raised the sword to hit the boy on the side. The boy's eyes met his and he was shocked when there wasn't even a hint of worry or fear in his eyes. Before he could blink the boy disappeared. Everyone gasped at how fast the boy was. Plus, no one could ever avoid Sai's attacks except a few people.

As Sai swiftly turned around to attack again the boy dodged again. As Sai kept trying to land a hit on the boy he didn't realize that the boy was trying to exhaust him. He even tried making him lose his footing but that only resulted in the boy jumping on his shoulder and landing a few feet behind him. He was slightly frustrated now. He lunged at the boy faster than he had during the whole fight and got ready to plunge the sword into the boy's stomach.

What happened next shocked him. The boy avoided his attack without a sweat but he was now calmly standing on Sai's sword. Sai looked up at the boy as he glanced back at him. "Gomen." the boy murmured. Sai blinked and the next thing he knew the boy had kicked him in the face with his foot and Sai flew a few a few meters away. He heard gasps as he landed on the ground. He felt a sharp object touching his neck and opened his eyes. The boy was pointing his own sword at him. Sai closed his eyes and smiled. There is a first to everything. The man at the beginning of the line shouted that the fight was over and Sakura plunged the sword into the ground. She stretched her hand out to Sai and he took it with a small and sincere lifted him up effortlessly and bowed in respect showing her gratitude for the fight. He also bowed.

She heard a low whistle and looked back. Suigetsu stood behind her with slightly wide eyes and a grin. "That was something, girly." he said with awe. She heard slight commotion and the next thing she knew she was almost swept off her feet. She felt arms wrap around her as she looked down at the blob of brown messy hair.

"That was amazing, onii-san!" Yoshirou shouted as he looked up at Sakura.

Sakura looked into his eyes that sparkled with excitement. "Arigatou, Yoshirou-kun." she said with a sincere smile.

"You!" she heard an angry shout. As she looked up she met a pair of angry dark eyes with very bushy eyebrows and very weird hair.

"Eeeh..." Yoshirou said as he glanced between the teacher and his sister.

"How dare you skip out on the first day of training! If you passed doesn't mean that you an just leave and go walk around the compound!" the young man said. He looked a few years older than Sakura.

She glanced at Yoshirou as he covered in fear and quickly let go of her and moved a few feet away from her. He never wanted to be the object of her wrath. He had seen her angry and it wasn't a pretty sight. Even her glance when she was angry would make you have nightmares for weeks. Since she was so composed and calm all the time when her angry side showed it showed to it's full capability.

"Please excuse my brother. He is very curious. But I promise you that he is a very obedient student. I deeply apologize." she said as she bowed. Yoshirou followed praying to every god that the teacher would accept the apology and he wouldn't get it from his sister.

"OOOOOH, MY YOUTHFUL COMRADE! HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO HAVE SOMEONE SO KIND AND RESPECTFUL!" the man shouted as he grabbed Sakura and brought his arm around her shoulder making her almost lose her breathing ability and hearing too.

"Hey! What are-" Yoshirou yelled before being interrupted.

"Hey! Keep your hands off of girly." Suigetsu said as he pried the man's arm off of Sakura.

"G-Girly?" the man asked with a confused expression.

"My nickname for him. He does look like a girl doesn't he?" Suigetsu said as he grinned.

"Lame." Yoshirou muttered.

"What was that, kid?" Suigetsu asked with a slight glare.

"What you heard." Yoshirou replied.

Suigetsu almost launched at him but was stopped by Sakura grabbing him by the collar from behind and swinging him away from Yoshirou.

"Don't you lay a finger on him." she muttered with a glint in her eyes.

Suigetsu shuddered and backed away afterwards glaring at Yoshirou who was showing him his tongue like a little kid.

"OH MY! You really do look like a girl. A beautiful one at that. Like a blooming cherry blossom and those eyes oooooh...if only you were a female I would make you mine." the man exclaimed as he clutched his heart.

Sakura sweat dropped.

"Kami-sama, why me?" she muttered as Suigetsu and Yoshirou laughed their hearts out while clutching their stomaches. The earlier 'fight' forgotten.

"Oh! Let me introduce myself. I am Rock Lee. You can call me Lee. I am a sensei at day time and a warrior at night." he said as he grinned. His smile almost blinding Sakura.

"Nice to meet you, Lee-san." she answered.

"OOOOH, NO NEED TO BE SO FORMAL!" he exclaimed.

Suigetsu and Yoshirou bursted out laughing again.

They didn't notice dark eyes watching them.

"I see we got a keeper." Itachi said with a smirk.

The person next to him huffed as he observed the pink haired male. He was very impressed. It was hard to dodge Sai's attacks let alone land a hit on him and catch him off guard. He smirked. A nice addition to the police force.

A man shouted at them to get in the line. Sakura bid goodbye to her brother and ruffled his hair wishing him good luck. The man with bushy eyebrows bid her goodbye while shouting "See you soon, youthful flower!". Sakura observed the few man that were picked. There was a tall man with orange hair who was surrounded by birds, a tall man with short black hair, a shorter man with brown hair in a low ponytail, Suigetsu, and herself.

She was beyond excited even though she didn't show it.

They walked in a line to the place where Itachi was sitting.

They stopped and watched as the man stood up.

"You did well. We found skilled warriors that we haven't found in a while." Itachi said with a smile.

When Sakura heard another voice her breath hitched.

"I will be your captain. My name is Uchiha Sasuke and welcome to the police force." he said as his eyes met Sakura's. Everyone in the line bowed. As she raised her head his gaze was still on her and he was looking right at her eyes.

She felt as if her knees would buckle at any second. Her heart beat faster than it has ever had. She wanted to cry from happiness.

She had finally met him again after so many years. He slightly smiled at her as he continued to speak. He broke off his gaze from her and looked at the others. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She inhaled as she closed her eyes. A tear escaped her eye as she smiled a happy and sincere smile.

**Pheeeew. I am glad I am done with this chapter. I have kept you waiting for a while. Thank you for your wonderful reviews. I started writing the second chapter on the same day as I posted the first one. I had it half completed for a week or so because I was busy with school. The story might not be update until June since a bunch of exams are coming up and I have to prepare for those. Gomen. Also, I am sorry if the fighting scene sucked. I know, I know, I am making Sakura all high and mighty. Kinda..lol Well this is her character in this story. Please review! Ja ne! =^_^=**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I am really sorry about the very late update! I know I was supposed to update months ago but I had exams and summer assignments and school started again! So I have been very busy! I hope this chapter makes up for the late update! And I'll try to update as soon as I can! Enjoy! =^_^=**

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked up at the two bickering idiots in front of her.

Naruto and Suigetsu were in each other's faces arguing about who was the greatest samurai.

Sakura sighed quietly as she sipped her green tea.

For the past week she and the other newcomers have been adapting to the life in the Uchiha compound. They got up an hour earlier than the other soldiers to practice the different sword techniques since they were new. Sakura was sure they didn't need it but she knew that practice made perfect and she never neglected her training. Yoshirou enjoyed every single thing in the compound. He dreamed of being a soldier in the Uchiha Police Force since he first heard of it.

The younger students patrolled the streets of the village during the day and were assigned small tasks like helping an old lady with her groceries in order to become a good citizen of Konoha. The more experienced and fully trained soldiers were patrolling during the night and some were assigned to assassination or bodyguard missions.

The soldiers were divided into groups and patrolled different sections of Konoha. Sakura's group included Naruto, Suigetsu, and Juugo. Naruto was the captain since he had the most experience and was in the police force since he was a kid. Sakura glanced at Juugo who was sitting next to Suigetsu. She smiled at how gently he looked at the birds and squirrels that surrounded him. The noise in the room increased as two squirrels jumped on Naruto's and Suigetsu's head. They were shouting and Sakura was pretty sure she was going to get a headache if she didn't leave.

A messenger entered the room and cleared his throat which did not get the attention of the two shouting males. Sakura finished her tea and slammed her cup on the table. The noise immediately seized. Even the squirrels had stopped their jumping around. She calmly looked at them and turned her head to the man. He awkwardly muttered a 'thank you' and cleared his throat once again.

"All the soldiers are being requested to gather in the meeting room." the man said.

Naruto groaned along with Suigetsu.

Sakura nodded to the man and got up from her sitting position from the low table.

"I bet teme is up to something again." Naruto muttered as he lazily got up and stretched.

Sakura just glanced at him and proceeded to the opened shogi doors. She exited the big dining room that was shared between the soldiers and headed to the meeting room.

As she followed the other soldiers she saw a group of younger soldiers who were led by their teacher. She quickly caught sight of Yoshirou's messy brown hair as he animatedly talked to his comrades. As soon as he saw her he grinned and ran towards her.

"Nii-san!" he greeted with a big smile.

"Good evening, Yoshirou-kun." Sakura replied with a nod and barely there smile.

"We came back from the patrolling about an hour ago. My group also got an assignment to clean this old lady's garden and took us hours. There was so many weeds and-" he was interrupted from his report of the day by a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey!" Naruto greeted with a grin.

"Naruto-sensei!" Yoshirou greeted.

"Hey, kiddo!' Suigetsu greeted with his toothy grin.

Yoshirou slightly frowned at him. He hadn't liked him much from the first day he met him.

"There is no need to call me that. I am not teaching right now so just call me Naruto." Naruto replied with another grin.

Naruto sometimes taught the younger students. He shared his great skills in sword fighting but he was mostly known for his weaponless fighting skills. Sakura was surprised at how he was even allowed to teach since hi acted like a kid most of the time.

'_Probably annoyed and begged someone to receive the right to teach.'_ Sakura thought as they entered the meeting room.

Yoshirou bid them a 'good-bye' as he headed to the section where the younger students sat. Sakura's group headed to the other side of the room to sit with the soldiers older soldiers. As Sakura sat down on the floor and folded her legs under her bottom she noticed that the captains and soldiers who held higher positions sat at the front of the room.

She recognized Sai. There was also Shikamaru who was Sasuke Uchiha's tactics planner and also the one who came up with some fighting techniques that the soldiers learned. She remembered meeting him with Itachi a few days ago on the wooden porch of the soldier's building. There also was Neji Hyuuga who was the police force's captain along with Uchiha Sasuke.

Everyone in the room quitted down when Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha entered.

"Konbanwa minna." Itachi greeted with a small smile.

Sasuke just nodded and looked around the room.

"I have very important news to share with you." Itachi said in a serious voice. The smile gone from his face.

"A highly-skilled assassin has been killing off people. We have gathered some information on him from the victims who stayed alive long enough to give some description of him before dying." Itachi said as he slightly narrowed his eyes.

"He has unimaginable speed and great use of a sword. He is taller than the average man. He wears a black cloak and his hair is a dark color. He is said to have dark eyes but the victims are not sure since his kills occur during the night. We warn you to be careful and be on guard at all times. You are to distract and occupy him if one of us is not there with you." he said as he gestured to himself, Sasuke, and the three that were sitting at the front.

'_Could it be...' Sakura thought as her eyes slightly narrowed._

This did not go unnoticed by Sasuke who was currently watching her.

'_Nee-san...' _Yoshirou thought as he looked at Sakura across the room with worried eyes.

Itachi went over some other things and finished his announcement. He nodded and some teachers stood up and gave the signal to stand up and leave. Noise once again filled the room as everyone discussed what has been said by Itachi. Sasuke just kept watching Sakura as she stood up and headed to the opposite side of the room. He saw the boy who he remembered to be her brother come up to her and ask something with concern filled eyes and Sakura nodded.

The white haired guy came up behind Tadashi and said something with a grin as he put his hand on the pink haired male's shoulder. The younger boy glared and yanked the white male's hand off of his brother's shoulder. He moved the pink haired boy to the side and pointed his finger accusingly at the white haired man as he said something.

'_Brother complex?' _Sasuke thought amused as he continued his observation.

Tadashi put his hand on his brother's shouldered and said something. The young boy stopped his accusations and straightened up as he turned to face his brother.

Tadashi said something and affectionately ruffled his brother's hair and the boy smiled and then ran off to follow his group but not before giving the white haired man a glare.

"Interested in our unique soldier?" Itachi asked with a smirk interrupting his brother's observation.

"Hn." Sasuke answered.

"Still don't trust him?" Itachi asked as he looked at the pink haired boy that was heading to the doors of the room.

"I am suspicious of where he learned such skills that he displayed on the day of the test." Sasuke said as he observed the said person.

"There are plenty of retired soldiers and he could be the grandson of any of them. Plus the other two showed great skills too." Itachi answered.

"No. His fighting style is superior to any of the retired soldiers. It's different. He must have been trained by someone who possesses great and unique skills. He doesn't resemble any of the retired soldiers." Sasuke answered.

"It could be from his mother's side." Itachi said as he smirked once his brother gave him an annoyed look and left the room.

Sakura's group had just gotten back from their patrolling shift. She had been slightly distracted after she learned the information that was announced in the meeting room.

She had received worried looks from her teammates during their patrolling hours. Sakura sighed as she shook her head. She needed to take her mind off of this topic. It was doing nothing good to her.

She grabbed a towel, some clean bindings, and the dark grey yukata she wore at night.

Sakura had gone to the hot spring since the day she had come here. There was a large section for males which was specifically made for the soldier's use and a female one which was used for the maids and other female workers. Of course she went to the female one since there was no way that she would go to a male one.

She checked her surroundings before entering the doors which led to the female hot spring. She made sure that no one occupied the dressing room and the bath. Once she was sure that she wouldn't be disturbed she undressed, wrapped a towel around herself, and headed towards the water.

The warm water felt amazing and she sighed in contempt. She swam to the darkest area in the bath so she wouldn't be discovered in case someone entered. She took a deep breath and felt so nice to breath without the bindings tightly wrapped around her chest. She had to wear them at all times to not get exposed. She relaxed as she leaned back her head on a rock behind her. She just now realized how bad she needed this. This has been the only piece and alone time she got lately. She didn't get much piece at night either. The soldiers shared a big building where each had a small room which were located very close to each other. Naruto's room was a right next to hers and she listened to his snores and mumblings almost the whole night. There were times where she fell asleep before he went to bed so she did not hear anything afterwards.

Her precious alone time was over once she heard female laughter and her eyes snapped open. Sakura sighed with an annoyed look on her face. She quickly heed behind a big boulder located in the hot spring as she listened to the conversation between the females. According to the splashes she assumed there were three females in the water.

"That soldier was such a cutie!" one of the females giggled.

Sakura slightly moved her head and watched the females from the shadows.

A girl with brown hair that was let down and slightly passed her shoulders scowled at the blonde girl.

"You already have Shikamaru. So why are you looking at other males?" the brown haired girl questioned.

"So what? It doesn't hurt to look. Plus it's not like I am doing something bad." the girl with light hair replied.

"Ino!" the brown haired girl looked at her sternly.

"Ten-Ten, stop being so boring. We are young and we need to have some fun. I already gave up so many things because of Shikamaru." Ino replied.

"That's the way it's supposed to be!" Ten-Ten replied.

"C-Calm down you two." the other girl with black hair replied.

Sakura sighed as the girls kept talking. She would just have to wait for them to live. There was no way that she could leave right now. She looked up into the starry sky and the full moon that was the only source of light at the hot spring. She slid down into the water with her back against the boulder. The water covered her shoulders and half of her neck. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm water.

She heard splashes and giggles coming closer to her and moved to the other side of the boulder. The blonde girl was swimming over with the girl with brown hair splashing her. When the blonde girl swam over where Sakura was hiding she took a deep breath and went under water. After she felt that the movements in the water stopped she carefully came to the surface of the water.

"Ino! Move!" the brown haired girl shouted.

The next thing Sakura knew senbons were flying at her head. She dodged them by moving her head to the side.

"Show yourself!" the brown eyed girl shouted.

'_How did she..'_ Sakura thought.

Sakura sighed. Guess she wasn't as good at hiding as she thought.

She wrapped the towel around her more securely and slowly came out of her hiding place.

A gasp was heard.

"It-It's that hottie that joined the police force a week ago." Ino said with widened eyes.

"Why is the towel completely wrapped around you?" Ten-Ten asked with a frown.

"Y-You're a g-girl!" gasps were heard in the hot spring as Ino shouted.

"Keep it down." Sakura gritted out with her male voice.

"I-I thought you were a boy. What a-are you doing here?" Ino questioned with wide eyes as the other two girls looked at Sakura.

"Taking a bath." Sakura answered.

"No! I mean in the police force! Women are not allowed to be samurais!" Ino said.

"Well, they don't know that." Sakura calmly answered.

Ino sighed.

"Y-You are is T-Tadashi right?" Hinata questioned.

"Yes, that's what my male name is." Sakura answered as she looked at Ten-Ten who still had a frown on her face.

Sakura gave her a questioning look.

"We saw your fight with Sai on the test day. Where did you learn how to handle a sword?" Ten-Ten questioned.

"I have my ways." Sakura answered as she looked at Ten-Ten's unsatisfied face.

"Where did you learn to throw senbons?" Sakura countered.

"I-I..." Ten-Ten stuttered.

"I guess we are even now." Sakura said as she looked at Ino. "I assume your name is Ino-san?" she questioned. "Yes, my name is Ino Yamanaka. And no need to be so formal." she answered with a grin. Ino nudged Ten-Ten in her side and the girl gasped and gave the blonde girl a glare. "I am Ten-Ten." the brown haired girl grudgingly answered. "I-I am Hinata Hyuuga. It's nice to meet you, Tadashi-san." Hinata said with a small smile.

Sakura sighed. "Will you please keep this a secret." Sakura asked with slightly pleading eyes.

"Of course! But only if you tell us what is your name and why are you here." Ino answered.

The other two girls nodded with small smiles.

"I guess that's a deal." Sakura answered with a small nod.

She slightly raised the towel higher so it would cover more of her back and let down her hair which reached slightly below her shoulders.

"My name is Sakura. It has been my dream since I was a little girl to be in the police force so I did my best to acquire the skills that would be needed. And don't worry I am not a spy." Sakura said as she looked at Ten-Ten and the girl visibly relaxed.

"Who is that boy with brown hair who is always around you?" Ino questioned.

"That's my little brother. Yoshirou." Sakura answered.

"But why would you dream to be in the police force?" Ten-Ten questioned with interest.

"There is someone who I am indebted to and I wanted to thank them by serving them." Sakura answered as the mentioned person's face came into her thoughts.

"Who is it?" Ino questioned eagerly.

Sakura looked at the girl skeptically.

"Oh, come on! We made a deal! We won't tell anyone." Ino answered and the other two girls nodded once again.

"I-It's Sasuke Uchiha-sama." Sakura answered.

**He he he I am so bad. Kinda a cliffy? I hope you liked it! I know it's boring right now so please bear with me for a while! I also feel like I am going back to the way I used to write. Ugh... The next chapter will get a bit more exciting and after that all the action will start and hidden secrets will be revealed! Mua ha ha ha ha Okaaaay...lol Please review and tell me what you thought! I want to thank everyone for reviewing and giving criticism. I know there a lot of things I need to improve on. I'll try to update next weekend and hopefully won't have much homework so I can update! Ja ne! =^_^=**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Thank you for your awesome reviews everyone! They made me so happy! Aaaaaah! I am truly sorry for the late update! I know I was supposed to update like three weeks ago but school just got very busy! Sigh. But I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review! =^_^=**

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sigh.

'What did I get myself into?' Sakura though as she laid on her futon staring at the ceiling.

Her hair was wet and sprawled on the pillow like a fan around her head.

Her eyebrows furrowed once Naruto's snores got louder and then quitted down a bit.

She thought back to her encounter with the girls and their promises of keeping their her identity as a secret.

'I guess I will just have to trust them.' she thought as she sighed once more and turned to her side as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few hours into her sleep her peaceful slumber was interrupted by the dream of her horrible past.

She thrashed and whimpered as the memories flooded her mind.

*Flashback/Dream*

"O-Okaa-san..." she mumbled with wide eyes as tears gathered in her eyes.

A man in a cloak was holding her weeping mother by the hair.

Sakura's eyes trailed to the left as she saw a dead body illuminated only by the full moon streaming through the window. This was too much like the experience they had a few months before. The form of her father could not be mistaken. The shaggy dark hair and his favorite dark green yukata with the clan's symbol in the back.

No. This could not be happening again. There was no one who would save them this time she was sure. She took out the hidden kunai from her sleeve that she has carried since the incident. As she was about to charge at the man he suddenly dropped her mother to the floor as he glanced at her. The golden like brown eyes glinted as she saw a small smile spread on the man's face that was now eliminated by the moon.

"R-Run..." her mother mumbled as she was racked by sobs. Helplessly laying on the floor in front of her husband's murderer.

Sakura shook her head slightly. She could not move. She was frozen by the fear by what might happen next. She prepared to charge once again as she came to her senses.

The man's moved his sword with unimaginable speed as Sakura gasped. He stopped an inch from her mother's heaving chest. He turned his head to her. "P-Pleas- Sakura immediately stopped her plea as she witnessed the sword going through her mother's chest. The woman let out a scream and struggled to breathe as blood started filling into her lungs.

Sakura fell on her knees while shaking. Unable to tear her eyes from her mother's form she watched as the light in her mother's eyes began to slowly fade. "S-Saku-ra, take care o-of y-your b-brother. I-I l-love yo- her mother did not get to finish before the sword was twisted in her chest and she let out a scream of pure agony. After her scream stopped she breathed her last breath as her now dull and lifeless eyes were directed towards Sakura.

The man's smile had disappeared when her mother was about to finish her sentence but now it had returned. It turned into a malicious grin as he roughly took out his sword from the woman's chest and looked at the shaking child before him. Tears poured down the child's face as he slowly advanced towards her. She let out an agonizing scream but was soon stopped as the man grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up in the air. Her small hands scratched his arm as the instinct for survival kicked in.

The man stared at her struggling form. His eyes cold and emotionless and his disgusting grin wiped off his face. "Hmmm...I didn't have any orders on killing you. What should I do?" he thought out loud. Her small hands were loosing the little strength they had as she tried to gasp for air. The man dropped her to the floor as she gasped for air and held her neck.

"I guess there is no need for me to waste my time on you. I won't get paid extra for that." he said as he looked down at her. "But let's just leave something for you so you keep your mouth shut." he said as he kicked her in the stomach and she flew into the wall behind her. Once again he was holding her by the neck. He stuck his sword into the wooden floor and took out a knife from his cloak. He grinned as he looked at her.

He pierced the spot between her neck and shoulder deep enough to leave a scar and dragged it through her skin. He stopped after making a line that was five inches long. This whole time the helpless child was screaming from agonizing pain as tears poured out of her eyes. He had roughly taken out the knife and threw her to the side and left her sobbing and whimpering from pain. There was no one to console her. She was all alone. The man glanced at her and disappeared through the sliding doors knowing perfectly that she would not utter a word. If she survived, of course.

Tears poured out of her eyes at the agonizing pain her small body was enduring. She heard a cry. She immediately recognized it. She flinched and cried out in pain as she tried to get up. Pain searing through her wound. The cries got louder and she did her best to endure the pain and get to her destination. On her way out the door she quickly glanced at her parents' dead forms and immediately regretted it. The image was forever embedded in her mind. She reached the room at the end of the hallway and found her little brother on the futon. She rushed towards him. She gently put her hand on his stomach and gently rubbed it. His cries quitted down at the comforting touch as he looked at her. She let out a sob as she looked at his innocent face. He was left without parents at such an age.

He rolled over and sat up. His watery eyes looking at her in confusion. He put his small hand on her cheek. "Sakua?" he asked and tilted his head to the side. His eyes filling up with tears at the sight of his crying sister. She let out another sob and hugged him tightly to her with her right arm her left one hanging limply at her side. As sobs wrecked her body Yoshirou started crying even louder. _'I'm not alone. I still have you.' _she thought. That night she promised herself and to her deceased parents that she would take care of Yoshirou and would protect him no matter what.

*Flashback/Dream End*

Sakura shot up in bed with tears staining her face. She gasped for breath as tears slid down her cheeks. Her body sweaty. She quickly wiped her tears and calmed herself down. She wouldn't cry. She had to be strong. She got up and folded her futon. She quickly dressed and headed to train so she could let everything out. Judging by where the sun was she guessed it was about five in the morning. The district quiet since everyone was still sleeping. She headed to where their daily practices were. She unsheathed her sword and swung letting all her emotions out. She trained for a while until others came to the training grounds.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Yoshirou looked worriedly at Sakura. He had come to see her after he had gotten back from patrolling with his group. She has been quiet. Actually she was always quiet but she had this distanced look in her eyes.

"Nii-san? What's wrong?" Yoshirou questioned with concern.

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at him.

"Nothing." she answered simply. She cursed for being acting weird and being careless with her emotions.

"Nii-san..." he said as he looked unsurely at her.

"I am fine, Yoshirou. I just didn't get much sleep last night." she answered.

Ne nodded. He knew something was definitely wrong but he would't push her to give him an explanation.

Sakura sighed. She needed to stop thinking about the dream. It wouldn't change anything. She did not want to worry Yoshirou so she tried not to think about it anymore. She put her hand around his head and pushed him to her chest as she put her head on top of his. He gasped at her action. She wrapped her arms around him.

"You know that I love you right?" she asked in a whisper.

His eyes widened in shock.

"Yes." he replied as he enjoyed her warmth and the comfort it brought him.

She let go of him and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"You should go and get some rest." she said as her hand dropped to her side.

"Hai." he replied as he smiled at her and ran off.

She sighed as she looked at the sunset.

She someone call her name. She turned her head and saw Naruto waving at her enthusiastically with Suigetsu and Juugo at his side ready to head out for their patrol.

She got up from her sitting position from the wooden porch and headed towards them.

She just needed to not think about it.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

A few days had passed after her nightmare and she wasn't thinking about it anymore. Sure her thoughts strayed to it sometimes but she always willed it to the back of her mind. The patrols had been uneventful. The nights were peaceful so they just walked around the village enjoying the starry nights of Konoha. She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard giggles.

A few meters away she noticed someone walking towards her. She was surprised when she looked up and saw Sasuke with a smile on his face. Her mind snapped back to the smile he gave her all those years ago. But he wasn't alone. A girl was walking next to him with her arm latched through his. She had a graceful and lady like walk. She was wearing a beautiful dark purple kimono which was decorated with flower designs. Her hair was long and black which reached her bottom. She had dark blue eyes that sparkled as she looked at Sasuke. She was looking at Sasuke with loving eyes and Sakura was slightly taken aback when she saw the same emotion in Sasuke's eyes as he looked at the girl.

Her chest clenched painfully but she shook it off.

Then he finally looked up.

"Good evening, Uchiha-sama." Sakura said as she looked down at her feet as she bowed.

"Good evening, Tadashi." Sasuke said as he smiled at her.

Sakura was surprised. He hadn't shown any happy emotions for the whole time she has been there and now he was smiling like the happiest man in the world. She quickly looked over to the girl and bowed once again. The girl looked at her and something flashed in her eyes as she giggled. Sakura did not know what it was but she didn't like it.

"Excuse me, Uchiha-sama." Sakura bowed once again.

He nodded and she started walking away in a hurry. She did not want to be near that girl.

"Tadashi." Sasuke's called and she stopped and immediately turned around.

"Call me, Sasuke-sama instead." he said as he smirked.

"Hai." Sakura replied and nodded.

She heard the girls giggles. Something wasn't right about her. She felt a pang in her chest and shook her head. No. She was just jealous. She was sure.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Naruto-san, who is the lady that was with U-Sasuke-sama today?" Sakura asked as she curiously watched Naruto as they strolled through the streets on their patrol.

"You mean Natsumi-chan? She is Sasuke's fiancee." He said as he brought his hands behind his head.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly but it went unnoticed by Naruto. She gave a bitter smile. Of course. What should she have expected? An amazing man like Sasuke-sama would have a fiancee by now. She was one of the most beautiful girls she has ever seen. It shouldn't be a surprise to her. She shook her head. It was none of her business. She was here to protect him and be a loyal soldier to him for the rest of her life. She wasn't supposed to be jealous. It's not like she could ever even become a friend with him. It was impossible. She would watch him from the side and just do whatever was in her power to keep him safe and happy.

"Tadashi?" Naruto asked.

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as Naruto frantically waved his hands in front of her face.

"What?" She asked as she looked at him.

"There was a robbery. Suigetsu took off after the robbers. I am sure he will need some help." He said in a serious voice.

She nodded as she noticed Juugo standing next to Naruto panting slightly. He must have run here to inform them since they had divided into pairs.

"Let's go." Naruto said as he took off in a run. She followed absentmindedly and then shook her head once again to get rid of the thoughts.

They reached the crime scene as women's wails were heard. They immediately entered the house and found a wounded man in his late forty's laying on the floor of the hallway with a woman and a young girl wailing over him.

"I'll take care of this. Go catch the robbers." Sakura said as the other two men nodded and took off.

Sakura lowered to the floor and started checking his condition. He had a few cuts on his upper arms and a a long gash running across his chest. The women looked at her expectantly and didn't utter a word since they were still in shock from what has just occurred in their home. Sakura nodded to herself. The gash wasn't deep or life threatening but it needed to be properly cleaned so it wouldn't get infected. Sakura looked up at the girl.

"Please bring some hot water, bandages, towels, and any kind of alcohol and ointment you have." Sakura instructed. The girl nodded with wide and tear-filled eyes and hurried to gather the needed items. In the mean time Sakura reaped the man's upper half of the yukata off. It was covered in blood and was ripped so it would be disposed of. She instructed the woman to hold down the cloth over the wound. She needed to stop the bleeding for now.

Sakura put a hand on the woman's shoulder as she sobbed. "Don't worry, he will be alright." Sakura said in a comforting voice. The woman nodded but tears still slid down her cheeks. Sakura sighed. "Where can I wash my hands?" Sakura asked as she stood up. The woman instructed her where to go but refused to leave her husband. Sakura washed her hands in the basin making sure to get rid of any dirt before cleaning up the man's wounds. Flashbacks of that horrible night came in to her thought as the image of her parent's lifeless bodies appeared in her mind. She snapped out of her thoughts when the girl hurried to her side with the gathered items and they headed to where the man was.

"T-The only things I found were towels. We d-don't have any bandages." the girl said.

"That's alright. May I rip these towels?" Sakura asked the woman. She nodded when the lady gave her consent.

Sakura quickly cleaned up the gash and the man let out a sound that clearly meant that he was in pain. "Please, hold his arms down." Sakura said and the women complied. She cleaned the wound with the alcohol a second time just to be sure that there wouldn't be any danger of infection. She covered the outside of the wound with ointment so it would't itch and wrapped the bandages around the man's chest. She disinfected the cuts and covered them in bandages. When she was done she breathed a sigh of relief. The man opened his eyes "T-Thank you." he said in a hoarse voice. Sakura nodded with a tiny smile on her face. The women cried tears of relief and incessantly thanked Sakura. "May we have the name of our savior?" the woman asked as she grabbed Sakura's hands and held them tightly. Sakura was surprised at the woman's actions but answered. "My name is Tadashi." she said and the woman smiled. The girl blushed slightly since she just noticed how handsome the man in front of her was.

The sound of foot steps was heard as two men entered the house. Sakura looked up and stood and then bowed to her superior. Neji had entered the house with Juugo behind him. "Good evening, Neji-sama." Sakura said as she stood up from her bow.

The man nodded as he looked at the women and the man lying on the floor. He looked at her with a questioning look. "I have cleaned up the man's wounds. He wasn't severely wounded." Sakura answered to the unasked question. Neji nodded.

"The others caught the robbers and the back up is taking them to the prison. Your shift will be over in an hour." Neji said as he nodded to the women and headed towards the door. Their cue to leave. Juugo put the stolen items which he was carrying on the floor.

"Juugo-san, please help me take him to a room." she asked the man as he walked up to her. "I can do it myself. I am sure you are tired." he said with a small smile as he carefully followed the girl. Sakura looked at the woman. "Let him rest. The wound should close up in a few weeks but don't let him out of bed for at least two weeks. Wash the area around the wound with warm water and disinfect once a day. The ointment needs to be applied four times a day." Sakura instructed. The woman gave her a grateful smile as she thanked her again. As Sakura waited for Juugo to come she told the woman to buy some herbs that her husband should drink to lessen the pain.

Juugo finally came out of the room and they left as the two women thanked them.

Sakura and Juugo walked in silence until they met up with Naruto and Suigetsu who were also on their patrol. Naruto was boasting about kicking those robber's butts.

"Tadashi! You should have see it! There were at least ten of them and I beat them up so bad they scurried away from fear." Naruto yelled.

"Yeah, right. More like I covered your sorry butt." Suigetsu muttered.

"We should split up." Sakura said as the others nodded and she was again walking with Naruto as he described the fight.

Sakura didn't pay attention and just walked while lost in her thoughts.

"Ne, Naruto..." Sakura started absentmindedly.

Naruto immediately stopped talking as he looked at her curiously.

"Sasuke-sama looked so happy today..." she said as she looked somewhere with a distant look.

"Yeah, teme gets that way when he is with Natsumi-chan. She had been visiting her relatives in another village for over a month so he was in a bad mood this whole time." He said as he chuckled.

Sakura nodded. Then that girl meant a lot to him. She heard that Sasuke Uchiha was cold and emotionless. And she had seen those things for the time she was there. So that girl made him show all of those emotions. If that girl made Sasuke-sama happy she wouldn't be jealous she told herself but it still didn't stop a painful pang in her chest to appear each time she though of them together. No. She would be happy and content as long he would be safe and happy. That's all she needed. Though she did not know at that time how painful it would be after her feelings for him grew to much more than admiration and the kind of love she had for him right now.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Well that's it for now. Please review! I will try to update as soon as I can! Ja ne! =^_^=**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! I want to thank everyone for your encouraging reviews! They make me happy! he he It's going to get a bit more exciting in this chapter. he he I hope you enjoy and please review! =^_^=**

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Last week's patrols were busier than usual. For some reason the crime had increased. A group was sent out last night to gather information on what might be the reason for this but they still haven't returned. A giggle was heard and Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

She sat on the wooden porch while her feet dangled in the air as she cleaned her sword. Natsumi was giggling and laughing as Sasuke chased her around. Sakura had never thought that he had a side like that. It's like he was a completely different person. She scowled when the girl hugged him and he twirled her around. They looked like a young couple in love. It's like there wasn't an increase in crimes and they had nothing to fear. Well it didn't really affect them. They were in the Uchiha district and everyone was safe there. But seriously? Didn't Sasuke-sama have better things to do? Like go to some kind of meeting. She scolded herself mentally. He was happy and she was content with that. But the denied jealousy always won over her resolve.

She brought her attention back to her sword and cleaned it with a cloth until someone sat down next to her. "Yo, girly." the man greeted with his toothy grin. Sakura just nodded as her attention returned back to her sword once again. Suigetsu stretched his arms and sighed. "The crime has increased and we get to have fun chasing those robbers around but its still boring." Suigetsu said as he looked at the two lovebirds.

Natsumi started laughing once again and Sakura looked up. He was kissing her cheek. Sakura scowled and huffed as she turned her head away. She heard a chuckle and looked at Suigetsu.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Sugetsu grinned as he looked at her.

"No." was her reply.

"Yeah right." he said with a chuckle.

"I am a guy." she replied.

"So? You just have a Sasuke Uchiha complex. Plus, you do look like a girl so you might have a feminine side." he said and laughed when her scowl deepened. She did not reply. But he did not know how right he was about her femininity.

As she looked up at Sasuke her eyes widened in horror. He was about to kiss the girl on the lips. It's like the two of them were in another world and didn't have a clue that someone was in their presence. But they did not seem to care at all. This was too much.

She couldn't take it anymore. She stood up abruptly startling the two lovers and walked away in a fast pace.

Sasuke followed her with his eyes as she walked away. He looked at Suigetsu with a look that said 'What's his problem?'. Suigetsu's eyes turned serious as he frowned. He got up and left leaving the lovebirds alone. Sasuke's attention turned back to the girl as she hugged him. The thoughts of the pink haired boy didn't leave his mind for the entire day.

Sakura hurriedly walked away and then stopped abruptly. She felt something wet on her cheek. She brought a hand to her face and touched a single droplet that was sliding down her face. She was crying. Why? Why did he affect her so much? No, it was not just him. It was them. She knew there was never even the smallest chance that she would be that close with Sasuke Uchiha. So what was she crying about? The pain reappeared in her chest and she clutched her chest. Why was she feeling this way? She shouldn't. What was happening to her? She did not know but she pushed those feelings out of the way. Even though it was so hard to do. She would not think of them. She would only do the things she should to make him happy. What she felt and what happened to her wasn't important.

She nodded to herself and headed off to the training grounds. She needed to let this pain out.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura had been successful in pushing her feelings back. It has been two weeks since the incident in the garden and she became used to seeing the two together. She had built a wall around herself for a few days after she witnessed the couple's affections but soon after everything disappeared as if she never was troubled by what had occurred. It seemed strange to Sakura but she did not care since she had reached her goal.

She had been seeing Sasuke around the compound more. He seemed to be busier than ever and he seemed to always be tired. The increase in crime must have increased his workload and the meetings with the village's council occurred frequently.

The group that was sent out to gather information had returned after 5 days than the day they were supposed to return. Well, at least what was left of it. One out of four people had come back. The man was severely wounded and had barely reached the compound. From what the group had gathered, there soon would be an uprising. Bandits from all over the parts of the village were gathering to overthrow the police force and create chaos. That's when the constant meetings started and the compound was in chaos. They had gotten some information of where some bandits live. So, tonight they would have to eliminate them.

The group that was picked by Neji-sama was gathered at the gates of the Uchiha compound waiting on someone to arrive. The gathered team consisted of seven soldiers which included Naruto, Suigetsu, Juugo, Sai, Lee, Kiba, and herself. There was also their captain Neji which was the eight. Naruto had started complaining about having to wait for someone and unfortunately Kiba had joined him.

"Shut it. You're giving me a headache." Suigetsu muttered as he hit Naruto at the back of his head.

"HEY! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Naruto yelled angrily.

Naruto hit Sugetsu and a fight was about to start. Suigetsu went in for a punch but was abruptly stopped as someone grabbed his wrist. He looked down and saw Tadashi with a serious expression on his face.

"Now is not the time for this. Don't waste your energy for useless things." he said as he let go of his wrist and looked at Naruto.

"I am sorry for his behavior, Naruto-sama." Tadashi said as he bowed and pushed Suigetsu head down with more force than needed which caused half of his body to bend.

"That's more like it." Naruto said as he crossed his arms across his chest with a smug look.

As Tadashi let go Suigetsu stood up and gapped at him.

"Why should I bow to HIM?" he asked bewildered as he pointed at Naruto.

"Because you just disrespected him and he is of a much higher status than you are. He can kick you out of here. He has the same position as Neji-sama." Tadashi stated as she sighed.

"WHAT!" he yelled out as he looked at Naruto and then at Neji.

"He acts like an idiot but he actually is a captain." Sai said with his fake smile.

"Thanks Sai-Heeeey! I am not an idiot!" Naruto exclaimed as he realized what Sai had said.

Suigetsu snickered and received a glare from Naruto, who then sent a bunch of colorful words in Sai's address.

Sakura sighed and then felt someone approaching. She was surprised when she lifted her head and saw Sasuke walking towards them. Everyone bowed as he reached them.

His eyes were focused on Tadashi who was bowing. Once he stood up their eyes met. Tadashi's gaze didn't waver. Sasuke looked at Neji and images of Tadashi's reaction flooded into his mind but he quickly pushed them back. He nodded as Neji said something to him. "Let's head out." Sasuke said as he walked in front of everyone with Neji.

They were divide into pairs and Sakura had luck today and got paired up with Sasuke. She felt happy inside and felt so happy just to be so close to him. They walked in comforting silence.

"What did you react like that last time?" Sasuke asked but kept his eyes on the road.

Sakura was slightly confused but the memories quickly flooded back. She frowned slightly but then regained her composure. She quickly made up a logical excuse.

"Please, forgive me, Sasuke-sama. I am just not used to display of such affections in public." she replied. That was such a lie. She had seen far worse in some parts of the village.

Sasuke nodded.

"Where did you learn those fighting skills?" Sasuke asked very curious this time.

"I had a very good teacher." she replied as her eyes slightly brightened at the memory of her sensei.

"Who might that be?" he asked as he looked down at her. He was very small for a guy of his age. He was at least two heads shorter than Sasuke.

"Jiraiya-sensei." Sakura said. When she thought about it she never heard him mention his last name.

Sasuke looked at her with slightly widened eyes. This kid could not be the student of that great man.

"You mean...the legendary Jiraiya?" Sasuke asked bewildered. JIraiya is one of the best samurai's of all times.

"Hai, Sasuke-sama." Sakura asked as she smiled inwardly at his astonished expression.

"How-" he abruptly stopped as both of them drew their swords and stood back to back.

"We're surrounded." Sakura stated as she looked around. She hadn't noticed until now that they had wandered off to a dark street where no lanterns lit up the area. The only source of light was the full moon high up in the sky. She slightly gritted her teeth. How foolish of her to let her guard down.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he smirked slightly. He hadn't had a fight in a while since he was busy with the village's council most of the time lately. Everything was silent. They watched cautiously as the figures approached. Bandits. The men charged at the two with different kinds of weapons. Sasuke and Sakura wasted no time and killed one man after another. Their moves were graceful and the moonlight illuminated their figures giving them a mystical air. It looked more like a dance than a battle. Even though the kills were easy there seemed to be no end to them. Sasuke had a particularly strong opponent compared to the previous ones that he had finished off. The man had thrown senbons in his direction and was now charging at him with a sword. Unknown to Sasuke someone else was about to attack him from behind. He deflected the sword and as he felt someone getting close to him he turned his head. Another man was charging at him and he was a few feet away but Sasuke knew that there was no way he could deflect the attack since there wasn't any time. He saw a blur that dashed behind him and deflected the man's attack and successfully slit his throat. Sakura turned her head to the side.

"Are you alright, Sasuke-sama?" she asked as if she had not just saved him from receiving a nasty gash on his back.

"Hai." he said as he looked back at his opponent and charged at him.

Sasuke and Sakura were slightly getting worn down but neither of them would admit it to themselves. All they knew is that they needed to finish this fight. Their speed increased and their movements seemed to become even more graceful. They had finished the fight in less than three minutes. With about fifty kills each. Sakura kept herself from slightly panting. She did not want to show any sign of weakness in front of him.

"Thanks." Sasuke said. Though he hated to admit that he just got saved by a kid.

Sakura understood him without him having to explain. She felt happy at the fact that she was at least some kind of help to him.

"Always at your service, Sasuke-sama." she said as she slightly bent her head.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura smiled to herself as she lowered her body into the water until only her head was visible. She couldn't help but smile. It has been a month and a half since the patrol with Sasuke-sama. They were always together in their patrols. Most of the time together but sometimes with some other members of the other groups. She was so happy when she was around him that she didn't have the words to describe her feelings. They talked everyday even if he had a busy day they would always talk for at least five minutes. She was surprised how much he had opened up to her. Almost as if she was a close friend to him. But she was glad that he let her off the hook easily whenever he would ask her about her past and she wouldn't answer. Though he had returned to being a 'cold-hearted man' after a few weeks of Natsumi's return she knew that it was a mask. He talked a lot about her. She felt uncomfortable and very sad whenever he talked about her so lovingly without realizing it but she was glad that he was happy.

She has been paying close attention to Natsumi's behavior. She had promised that she would look out for her whenever he wasn't around. She was glad to be of help to him no matter the pain it brought to her to see this woman. Her heart had ached for Sasuke when she witnessed Natsumi flirting with some of the soldiers a few weeks ago. She didn't tell Sasuke of course. She didn't want him to be upset since he already had many things to deal with. When she had walked in on them Natsumi's hand was on the soldier's shoulder and her face was close to his. When they noticed her the soldier had hurriedly left and Natsumi had glared at her. Sakura was shocked at first but now it had become a common occurrence. She didn't know what the cause of Natsumi's sudden change of behavior was. Sasuke-sama was a caring, loving, strong, brave, and intelligent man. What else could she need?

"What are you smiling about, Sakura?" Ino asked with a knowing grin.

Oops. She had drifted off into her thoughts again and became oblivious to her surroundings. She had been doing that a lot lately. With all those thoughts in her head.

She slightly flushed. "It's nothing." she replied as Ino gave her a look.

"Come on! We all know that you like Sasuke-sama." Ino said as Hinata and Tenten nodded with smiles.

"N-No, I don't." Sakura replied. She never stuttered.

"Stop denying it. See? You even stutter like Hinata when she is with Naruto. And they have been engaged to each other for months!" Ino said as Hinata turned red.

"So what if I do? It's not like anything is going to change if I admit it." Sakura said as a blush covered her cheeks and she looked to the side. Watching the steam from the hot spring rise into the air.

"What do you mean? You should tell him how you feel!" Ino said as if it was common sense.

"Are you crazy? He is engaged!" Tenten shouted.

"Oh, hush Tenten. It doesn't mean she can't tell him his feelings and steal him from her." Ino said as she folded her arms across her chest.

"This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard." Sakura said as she shook her head.

"You have to play dirty to get the man you want. How do you think I got Shikamaru? This other girl was trying to steal him from me so I made sure she never came close to him." Ino stated with a proud smirk.

"You weren't even dating or engaged at the time." Tenten said as she sweat dropped.

"I knew that he was going to be mine and that I would marry him the first time I saw him. I am married to him aren't I?" Ino said as she grinned wickedly.

Tenten shook her head and sighed.

"Anyways, you should tell him how you feel." Ino said as she looked at Sakura with a serious expression.

"Ino, I am a guy. How do you think he would react? Plus, he is happy with Natsumi-sama and I don't want to ruin his happiness. And it is impossible for me to be anything more to him than I am right now." she said.

"No, you're not. You're a woman. You are beautiful and Natsumi has no chance against you. And look how close you two have gotten. He spends more time with you than with Natsumi." Ino stated.

"Ino! She would be executed if anyone found out that she was a soldier in the army."

"No, the wouldn't. We and Sasuke-sama would defend her." she said. She was way to stubborn for her own good. Sakura shook her head in disbelief and sighed. Her senses kicked in as she heard noises.

Males had entered the hot spring next to them. It was her cue to leave. Unfortunately she had no time as a head peeked over the fence separating the baths. She quickly hid behind a boulder. A guy with shaggy black hair was looking at the girls with a grin.

"Hey guys, we have company." he said with a grin and six more guys peeked over the fence.

Hinata had covered her chest as much as possible and was red. She also had a very scared expression on her face. A rock had hit the guy in the face and he fell over while he cursed. The others followed him as they were hit with rocks.

Ino looked at Sakura and grinned.

"Nice, Sakura." she said.

"Hurry up, and get out of here. I'll take care of them." she said as she looked over the fence again hearing groans and curses.

She quickly leapt out of the water as the girls followed her.

She quickly dried herself making sure her back was turned away from the girls. She loosely bound her chest since she had no time and put on all of her clothing. She heard the girls squeal. She looked over at where they were looking and her eyes widened when she saw the guys climbing over the fence.

The girls were halfway dressed and ran to the door. The door slammed open and two guys had entered clad only in towels. The next thing Sakura knew getas had hit them in the face. Tenten had her hands raised in the air with a triumphant smirk. "Perverts." she muttered with a scowl. Thankfully for Sakura none of the guys had noticed her.

"Kyaaaaaa!" they turned in the direction of the voice and saw a guy grabbing Hinata by the waist.

"LET GO OF HER! YOU PIECE OF S-" Ino didn't finish her sentence as she was grabbed by two more guys.

Tenten was cursing very loudly while trying to beat up four guys that had appeared out of nowhere and were succeeding in making her unable to move. Sakura appeared next to Hinata in a flash and pried the guys arm off of her. She punched him and he flew right into the hot spring. He stunk of sake. They were all clearly drunk and they kept appearing out of nowhere.

"Kyaaa! Pervert!" Ino screeched as one of the guys tried grabbing her butt.

Hinata was in tears by now from how scared she was.

Six guys had latched themselves on Sakura. She could not move. One of the guys pulled on her yukata which made her bindings show. She cursed.

There were fifteen guys against four helpless girls.

"You're cute." one of the guys slurred as he grabbed her by the waist and had his head in the crook of her neck. She tried to head butt him. But her attempts were useless. She cursed. How did they get themselves into this? How was she overpowered by six drunk guys. Hinata screamed, Ino screeched, and Tenten cursed. What were they going to do? The guy was in the process of slipping Sakura's yukata off her shoulder when the door slammed open. Four guys stood in the doorway with shocked expressions on their faces. Then their faces became furious and all hell broke loose.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru's eyes found Ino being pressed with her back against a guy. One holding her hands and lifting her yukata up exposing her leg. Her hair was wet and down. Her yukata was sliding off her shoulder. Tears gathered in her eyes and one slipped once her eyes met his. He appeared by her side and beat up the guys. She latched herself onto him as she started crying.

Neji became furious the moment he saw Tenten. Tenten was cursing. He felt some pride when he saw a one of the guy's eye swelling up, another had scratch marks on him, the next one had some of his hair torn out of his head, and the last one was on the floor holding his private parts in pain. Her yukata was off her left shoulder exposing a part of her chest. He was by her side in a second and made sure to make the males feel pain.

He hugged her and held her close to his chest as he heard her sniffle.

Naruto's eyes were widened in horror when he saw the state Hinata was in. Her face was flushed, her long black hair messy, tears pouring out of her eyes. It was the first time he saw her so terrified. Her yukata was a torn in some place and her chest was somewhat exposed. One of the guys had his arm around her waist and he was about to lick her neck. Naruto had beat the guy into a pulp. He was shaking from rage. He felt Hinata tag on his sleeve and he turned around. He pulled her to his chest and tightened his grip on her when she started sobbing uncontrollably. He took off his haori and covered her small body with it. He held his precious treasure in his arms as if his life depended on it.

Sasuke did not know why he felt the way he did but his jaw had tightened and he was furious when he saw the position Tadashi was in. The excuse of a man had the audacity to be slipping off the yukata and having his head in the crook of his Tadashi's neck. Wait. What did he just think? He lost his control when the another man lifted Tadashi's yukata exposing his long thin leg and thigh.

Sasuke stormed to Sakura's side and practically ripped off the drunk man off of her. He beat them up just like the other guys had though he didn't know why. He just had the feeling to protect him. Maybe because he was so small and seemed fragile. He noticed the bindings around her chest that were revealed as she pulled up the yukata that was sliding of her shoulder and secured it tightly. He frowned slightly. Why would a guy wear chest bindings? He shook it off. She prayed that he hadn't noticed the bindings. Sakura stumbled over the beat up bodies on the floor and started falling. He caught her and balanced her.

"Thank you, Sasuke-sama." she said as she bowed her head slightly. Those words sent a pang through his chest. It felt as if it had a double meaning. She was grateful for saving her. She hated that he had seen her in the such a weak and helpless state since she is a great soldier but the exhaustion from all the patrols and bandit chasing they did lately just got to her.

He observed Tadashi as he kept his head bowed. He was so fragile. When he had caught him by the shoulders it felt as if he would break his shoulders. His hair was down and slightly damp. His cheeks were flushed and he noticed how his beautiful green eyes sparkled in the light as he looked at him. His cheeks had slightly changed to a pink shade. Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts when he realized that someone was talking.

"What were you doing here?" Neji asked. His tone not pleased and demanding an answer immediately.

"I had taken a bath and was heading back to my room. I heard screams and came here." Tadashi answered.

"So you just barged in here?" Neji asked his voice angry. Tenten tugged at his shirt but he paid her no attention. He just brought her closer to him.

"No, Neji-sama. I made sure that I was allowed to enter." Tadashi answered.

"He is telling the truth, Neji." Tenten said. He looked at the other girls and they nodded.

"I apologize for failing my duties to protect your women. I will take the punishment for it." Tadashi stated as he bowed.

"No! All he tried to do was to help us. This could have been worse if not for Tadashi's help." Ino said.

"We are fine aren't we, Neji?" Tenten asked.

Neji sighed and looked at Sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke shook his head and the girls breathed a sign of relief.

"I'll send someone to clean this mess up." Neji said as he looked at the bodies on the floor. Everyone either passed out or groaning in pain.

Sasuke nodded.

The couples started leaving and Sakura followed after Sasuke.

Sasuke sat down on the porch as he looked at the garden. He patted the sit next to him and Sakura sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Sasuke sighed and looked at Tadashi.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Hai, Sasuke-sama. Thank you for saving me." she said with a small smile.

Sasuke's breath slightly hitched as he saw the small lift of Tadashi's lips. He looked...pretty. He shook his head. What was he thinking? Tadashi was a guy and Sasuke already had Natsumi. But he knew that he possibly was starting to like more than a friend. He denied it and blamed it on the exhaustion he has been feeling. Yes, that was it.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Pheeew. That's it. Thankfully it's longer than the last chapter. I guess some exciting things happened in this chapter. I thought of making this story all serious and stuff but thought that putting this funnyish moment in the hot spring and drunk guys wouldn't hurt. I apologize for the lateness. School is getting busier every week. I am sorry for the lameness of the fighting scenes with each guy. I just wanted to make it short and wanted to show each guy's reaction. I am horrible at describing fight scenes. lol There is going to be kinda a lot of drama next chapter and many things will happen. Excited yet? he he he Please review! Ja ne! =^_^=**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Last week in school has been so hectic! So I wasn't able to update. So I just had a big urge to update since I can't wait to get to the exciting parts! Aaaah! lol Thank you for your reviews! They make me so happy and I grin like an idiot when I read them! he he he Enjoy and please review! **

o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura's eyebrows were scrunched as she restlessly moved around on the futon. She kept having these flashbacks of her life and they seemed to invade her dreams more often than she would like. In fact, she would like them not to invade her dreams at all and let her rest peacefully. But that wouldn't happen, now would it?

_Flashback_

Little Sakura sat in the corner with her little baby brother in her hold. He was sleeping peacefully in her arms and she hadn't let anyone approach them since the police force had come. She sat on the kitchen floor staring at the bloody spots on the floor which were occupied by her parents' dead bodies just half an hour ago. She had slept with her brother in another room and a day had passed since her parents had died. She was in shock. She barely knew what she was doing. She would go into the kitchen and prepare some food for herself as if nothing had happened. As if she would wake up from this terrible dream and her parents would be alive.

Their neighbor which was a friend of her mother had come to visit and found Sakura with her brother asleep in her arms rocking back and forth about two hours ago. Sakura did not respond to anyone and had a blank look on her face. The only emotion that she expressed was anger when someone dared to approach her and her sibling. She almost looked like a mother protecting its cub from danger.

She looked up at the two men conversing quietly a few meters away from her. The taller man was the captain of the police group that was sent, she assumed. The much shorter and fatter man talking with him was her repulsing uncle. He looked at least ten years younger than her father yet he was five years younger than him.

Anger, that she did not know she possessed, bubbled inside of her as his two children ran around the place as if their uncle and his wife hadn't been murdered. The older one of the two children was a boy who was eight years old and the younger one was a girl who was five years old. Her eyes widened when she saw her uncle's fat and unattractive wife enter through the doorway with her mother's kimono's. Her anger finally showed itself. She carefully placed her brother on the floor making sure the blanket was keeping him warm. She dashed towards the woman with a small knife which she has been carrying since her parent's were murdered.

She stomped on her foot and kicked her in the leg making her crouch and grab her leg. Sakura slashed the knife through her hair and when the woman grabbed her small hand hand with a screech the brought the knife across her face. The woman screamed. Sakura was hauled away and restrained by the captain as the woman's husband rushed over to her. The man turned towards her with an angry expression.

"There seems to be no other relatives in the village. What should we do?" the captain asked as he looked at the man.

"Of course, I will take care of her and her brother. They are, after all, my nephew and niece." the man said with a glint and a disturbing glint in his eyes. She glared at him as she growled under her breath. She hated that he had the same green eyes as her father. She hated the look in his eyes which was almost as if her own father was looking at her with that disturbing expression.

She never liked him nor his family. They always appeared at their doorstep and barged into their house as if they owned the place. Of course her parent's being generous and even partly naive they wouldn't comment on it. Her parent's always welcomed guests. The poor child had no idea through the hell she will go while being with them. She would would learn the true colors of a human and will hate the man with every single fiber of her being.

_Flashback End_

She had woken up with a start once again and sat gasping for air as she tightly clutched onto the sheets. She hadn't had these flashbacks for years so why were they invading her mind now? She hated the time she spent with her cruel uncle and his family. There will be a person in the family that will poison the minds of other's and break the family apart and she was a hundred percent sure that her uncle was that merciless and heartless person.

There was no way that she would fall asleep after these nightmares. She never did. She would just be waisting valuable time if she would lay there trying to fall asleep. So she started off her day with the training that she did every morning no matter how exhausted she was.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura sat under the cherry blossom tree with her legs crossed in lotus position. Her eyes were closed as the wind moved her bangs which tickled her nose. Giggles surrounded her as she felt something falling on her. She opened her eyes to see Ino shaking one of the branches of the tree and cherry blossom petals as they floated and covered Sakura's form.

The girls had dragged her to the garden after Sakura had finished her training and taken a bath. "Ne, Tadashi. Why do you always cover your back?" Tenten asked as she looked at Sakura curiously. Her question getting Ino's and Hinata's attention. Sakura quickly made up a believable excuse. "I don't like to be completely exposed." she said as she closed her eyes again. Ino groaned. "Oh, come on! You have the body any gi-" she was interrupted as Tenten smacked her hand of Ino's mouth. "If you will keep your big mouth running, we'll get Tadashi in trouble!" Tenten hissed.

Ino removed Tenten's hand from her mouth. "Well, it's not like anyone can hear us right now." Ino said as she scowled at Tenten.

"Ino-chan, we have been watched the whole time we have been here." Hinata said with a small smile.

"What?" Ino asked confused but then understood when she felt something looking at her. She looked at the porch of the house and saw Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto seating on the porch of the compound.

She slightly scowled. Didn't they have better thing to do?

Neji's gaze switched from Tenten to Tadashi as his eyes furrowed. "Don't you think Tadashi has been around them way to much?" he asked no one in particular as his eyes slightly narrowed once Tenten brushed off some petals from the pink haired man's shoulder.

"Is someone jealous?" Naruto teased as he grinned at him.

"I am not." Neji replied calmly. "He just has been spending way too much time with them and lately I don't see Tenten often because of all the patrolling we have been doing." Neji said as he scowled.

"Maybe he just feels more comfortable with them than with guys. He is usually keeps to himself around everyone and he seems to talk much more when he is with the girls." Naruto said as he observed the said man's serene expression. He really did look feminine. Maybe that's why he felt more comfortable with females.

"Maybe he is just a ladies man." Neji said with a frown.

"Why are you trying to find a flaw in him?" Naruto asked with a frown as he looked at Neji.

"Tenten defended him yesterday when I asked her why were they always around him." he said with a scowl.

"So?" Naruto asked.

"She never defends me." Neji said as he folded his arms and pouted.

"Are you serious?" Shukamaru muttered with an annoyed look.

Neji glanced at him.

The next second Naruto bursted out laughing.

"It's not funny, idiot." Neji said as he scowled at Naruto's form as he clutched his stomach.

Shikamaru muttered a 'troublesome' as he got up and went to find some peace and quiet.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura and Sasuke walked in silence. She knew there was something bothering him since they always had something to talk about. She sighed and gathered up the courage to ask him.

"Is something on your mind, Sasuke-sama?" she asked as she looked at his furrowed eyebrows as he stared at the ground.

He shook his head but it seemed as if the action was to reassure himself than to answer her question.

"You know that I will listen." she said as she gently touched his arm. He slightly tensed at the contact and his eyes slightly widened as he looked at her. He looked into her serious eyes and sighed.

"Natsumi has been acting strange lately. She has been angry at for some reason and distant. One minute she clings to me and asks for attention the next minute she wanders off somewhere." he said as he looked up at the starry sky.

"Maybe she just wants your attention since you have been busy with the council lately." Sakura said as she looked up at the sky too.

"Maybe, you are right. I will talk to her." he said as a sigh of relief escaped him and he smiled.

A few teenage boys ran past them. Sakura sighed as the nagging feeling in her stomach increased. She had been bothered by what Yoshiurou told her two hours ago and couldn't help but worry as her sisterly senses kicked in.

_Flashback_

"Nee, nii-san?" Yoshirou asked with a grin as he looked at his sister.

She looked over at him and tilted he head to the side lightly as if as if asking 'what?'.

"The best students from our section were picked to patrol the streets at night and I am one of them." he said as he grinned proudly.

She suppressed the urge to shout out a disbelieving and an angry 'what?'.

She just stared at him with a blank face and his grin wavered. Who had this insane idea of inexperienced kids patrolling the streets when the crime rate was at it's highest? A thousand thoughts were raising in her mind as images of something going wrong and Yoshirou getting hurt were going through her mind. She shook off the thoughts as Yoshirou called her uncertainly.

"I am proud of you. But please promise me that you will be careful and won't be reckless." she said as she grasped his hand and looked at him with worry in his eyes that only he recognized.

"I promise, onee-chan." he whispered as he squeezed her hand and hugged her.

She nodded and returned the comforting hug. She always enjoyed his presence. He always calmed her down and made her feel alive. She had drastically changed after their parent's deaths but he was the only reason there was any human emotion and feelings left in her. He kept her going through the horrible things that she endured as a child. Things that no child should ever go through. She grew up to quickly. She had taken a role of a mother when she was a child herself but it was the right thing to do. Sasuke-sama, of course was another reason for how strong she was now. It was because of the burning desire to repay him and be by his side that made her train so hard and always do her best.

But the scars of the past would never heal.

They never do.

_Flashback End_

She felt his gaze on her and looked at him.

He was staring intently at her as they walked slowly.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke-sama?" she asked with a blank face.

He shook his head but looked at her for a few more seconds and turned his head away.

"You...You just remind me of someone." he said quietly.

She tilted her head to the side in question.

He sighed. He did that a lot lately she noted. He really had a lot on his mind.

"I have been in the police force since I was a kid. Because of my prodigal skills and being one of the sons of the Uchiha clan's leader I got hands on experience. One night we were patrolling the streets and passed a house which was attacked by some robbers. When I had come in a little girl was standing with shaky hands and holding a knife trying to protect her parents. It had surprised me. Other children of her age would just start crying." he said as he looked at her.

She nodded.

"That incident made me a better person. It made me train harder so I could protect all of the people of Konoha. Because of the gratitude and relief she showed after I showed up." he said.

Sakura smiled slightly as she looked at his profile.

"Have you seen her since then?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I had gone to her house and it was empty." he replied.

"Maybe they moved somewhere else?" she asked. Knowing the real answer already.

"Yeah. Well you couldn't be her anyway. She is a female after all." he said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah..." Sakura replied with a bitter smile. He had no idea how wrong he was.

They were five minutes away from the compound when a servant rushed out of the gates. As he turned to ran towards their direction his eyes widened and he sprinted towards them. "Sasuke-sama." he said as he bowed and then turned towards Sakura.

He a slightly panicked look on his face.

"I have urgent news to deliver to you, Tadashi-san." he said.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion slightly.

"Y-Your brother was brought in wounded a half an hour ago." he said with a worried expression.

Her body moved on its own once he finished the sentence.

Her mind had gone blank.

All she did was run as fast as she could.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Okay. I know its super short but I had to stop there since I wanted to do a cliffhanger really bad. Many things will be revealed in the next chapter and I think it will be pretty long. Hopefully. I am so excited because the next chapter is filled with unexpected events. he he he Please review and I hope you are excited as I am! he he Ja ne! =^_^=**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey minna-san! First of all, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. It means so much to me and I truly mean it! I have received so many story/author alerts which I am thankful for too. But it is sad that there were so many alerts and very little reviews. Don't get me wrong, its not reviews that are important to me but that people actually read my stories and enjoy them. But when you put your time and effort into your work you want to get feedback. I really would like your thoughts on this so please review. Everyone likes to receive reviews, right? So why don't you just review and make me and the rest of the amazing and hardworking writers on FF feel happy! Okay, I am done with my complaining right now. School is getting so much busier. Ugh. I hope you enjoy and please give me feedback and tell me your thoughts. Suggestions on improving my writing are always welcome. So don't be shy. We all need to learn sometime. =^_^= Oh and you think last cliffy was bad this one is ten times worse. Muahahahaha Revenge is sweet. Naaah, I had it planned all along. lol But the next chapter might be updated depending on how many reviews I get. *evel grin* **

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura rushed through the gates as if the devil himself was chasing her.

She did not know where she was headed but her legs carried her somewhere. Her mind was running wild with thousands of thoughts rushing through her head. Was he alright? How big was the injury? How serious was it? What had happened? Was he going to survive? She shook her head at that thought. He certainly would. He was strong and there was no way in hell she would let him die.

Her legs had carried her to a separate compound where all the young soldiers resided. Her feet swiftly padded the wooden floors of the porch without making a sound. A nurse was hurriedly running somewhere and she came face to face with Sakura. "Where is he?" she shouted slightly. Her eyes were starting to show panic and she knew she was loosing her composure. The nurse was taken aback and took a step back once the words left Sakura's mouth. The nurse knew who Tadashi was. Everyone in the Uchiha compound did. His victory over Sai and his amazing fighting skills spread like wildfire. And it was no secret that she had a brother. The nurse answered as she replied with slight fear. "H-He is in the west wing of this compound." she stuttered out and all she felt was a whoosh of wind on her left as she was left looking at the empty spot before her.

As she got closer to the west wing her sprint became faster. 'This could not be happening!' she chanted in her head. As she reached the medical wing she opened the shogi doors with a slight bang and was met with the sight of surprised nurses. Once they saw her they pointed in one direction. A room that was located in the end of the porch. As she reached the door she stumbled and tried to open the doors more quietly this time. Her eyes widened as her eyes recognize her brothers body. The nurses started to protest at her disruption but shut their mouths when they realized who it was.

"Leave." she said in an emotionless tone. As one nurse started to protest she silenced her with a deadly look. The room emptied as the nurses hurriedly left the room. She rushed to her brother's form that was placed on a futon at the opposite wall. She kneeled next to her brother's form and her eyes looked at his pale face. His body was sweaty and his shaggy brown hair stuck to his forehead. As she touched his forehead she discovered that he was running a fever. She quickly looked around the room and noticed a basin with a cloth placed next to it located at the bottom of the futon. She quickly grabbed it.

As she was about to dip the cloth into the cold water in the basin she heard her brother's barely audible voice. "Sa-Sak-kura..." he mumbled in barely a whisper as his hand reached into the air as if searching for her. She quickly grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it in hers. The cloth and the basin forgotten. "I am here, Yoshirou-kun." she said as she moved closer to him. His grip slightly loosened and his furrowed eyebrows returned to its normal position.

She gently brushed the hair out of his face and dipped the cloth into the water. Her other hand never leaving her brother's as she gently held it and squeezed gently. She dabbed the cloth over his face and then neck making him shiver and furrow his eyebrows. She wet the cloth one more time and then placed it on his forehead. She pulled up the covers all the way to his face to make sure he was comfortable and warm.

She sat there, staring at him for some time until exhaustion took over and she fell asleep by his side. Her hand never leaving her. The fear and sadness released itself in her sleep as tears gently rolled down her pale cheeks.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

It has been five days since she has been by her brother's side. She didn't eat much. The nurses would bring her food since she refused to leave the room. She knew she was acting childish but she didn't care. All she cared about was her brother and he needed her by his side. Thankfully she was released from her duty of patrolling and attending the daily training due to this event until things got better. The nurses had said that he had a long gash across his back. It wasn't very deep but it took some time to stop the bleeding. They also stitched the wound up. She frowned at the thought.

She should have been there by his side. She knew how painful it was. She had experienced such pain as a child after all. She did everything to protect him yet here he was wounded and unconscious. She was supposed to be there. She was supposed to protect him. She should have done something after she heard that he would be patrolling at night. She felt that something bad was going to happen yet she didn't follow her intuition. She felt like a failure.

The girls and some of the guys had come over to try and comfort her. But she just sat there holding her brother's hand. She did not acknowledge anyone and did not utter a single sound. Even Sasuke had come over. Only his words of comfort calmed her down a bit and made her feel better but she steel refused to leave the room.

It was morning. The shogi doors were open to let in some fresh air as sun rays streamed into the room. The only occupants of the room were Sakura and Yoshirou. She was worried. Even though his fever had gone down he was still unconscious. She blankly stared at the wind chimes that hung on the porch. Gentle sound came as a small gust of wind moved the metal tubes.

Her attention was quickly brought back to her brother as she felt his fingers move in her hand. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her once his eyes adjusted to the light. She stared at him with slightly widened eyes. He tried to sir up but winced and let out a sound of pain quickly bringing her back from her slight shock. She try to make him lay down but he refused and sat up with her help.

"Gomene." he said with a guilty smile as she stared at him.

She threw herself at him without a though and gently wrapped her fragile arms around his neck. Making sure not to hurt his back in any way. Her small form started to shake and tears streamed down her face as sobs wracked her body. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. His eyes wide in shock from her display of emotions. He hasn't seen her cry for so many years.

"I-I thought I was g-going to lose y-you." she whispered as she sobbed.

"Onee-chan..." His grip on her tightened.

"Never do this to me again. You know I won't survive without you." she said as she released her hold a bit to look into his eyes.

"I won't. I promise." he said with a small reassuring smile.

She nodded as she gently stroked his head.

She stood up on her knees and grasped his head gently. He wrapped his hands around her waist and she placed a gentle and loving kiss on his forehead.

A figure on the compound across watched the interaction with onyx eyes. His eyes held softness and a gentle smile grazed his lips as he felt relief wash over him. Tadashi's behavior and sadness affected him greatly. It was as of he felt the sadness that Tadashi did. Those deep green eyes displayed every emotion he felt. He really was a loving brother. His eyes left the pair once Tadashi sat back down. He had a meeting to attend to now.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Ne, onee-chan?" Yoshirou asked.

"Hmm?" she hummed while applying ointment onto the gash that was healing surprisingly fast since it was a bit deep. It has been only a week. She let his addressing of her as sister pass for now since he was recovering.

"Tsunade-sama, had come to see me." he said. Sakura's hand stopped moving for a few seconds as she looked at the back of his head.

"When?" she asked as she turned her attention back to applying the ointment. She refused to let the nurses to take care of him unless she was on the patrol.

"In the afternoon. During your patrol. She wanted to see you very bad and said she missed you. She also checked my wound and said she would sent some other ointment from home." he said as he picked at the bandages around his torso.

"I'll go see her sometime." she said.

"Stop fiddling with the bandages. They'll come loose." she said. Though she was exaggerating since she tied them tightly.

His hand immediately left the bandages alone as he started fiddling with the cover. He would never know how she knew what he was doing since his back faced her. He guessed that it was the power of sisterly and motherly intuition. She was his main mother figure aside from Tsunade and Shizune.

"I am getting back to night patrolling tonight." she said after a moment of silence.

"Two patrols in a day? Isn't that too much?" he asked.

"It's time to get back to my night patrols. The soldier who is replacing me in my night patrols keep falling asleep and Ssauke-sama get irritated. Plus, day patrols are troublesome. The weather is too hot and there are way to many people on the streets." she said as she closed the small container in which the ointment was held.

"Yes, but you had two patrols in a day and you are exhausted. I can see." he said with worry.

"Sasuke-sama needs me on the patrols since the bandits are attacking more frequently." she said as she stood up from her sitting position and stretched her arms.

"Hn. Sasuke-sama this, Sasuke-sama that, it's always about what he wants. What about what you want?" he grumbled.

"Yoshirou! Sasuke-sama is our leader. We have to follow the orders." she said as she put a warm blanket over his shoulders.

He humphed as he folded his arms across his tanned chest.

"Don't be so childish." she said as she kissed the top of his head and left after she strapped her sword onto her side.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

It had been a few weeks after Yoshirou was wounded and thankfully his wound was almost completely healed up. The gash had healed up faster due to the ointment that Tsunade-sama had sent just as she promised. Sakura and Yoshirou had went to see her after Yoshirou was in state to walk around. According to Sakura that was two weeks and there was nothing Yoshirou could do about it except grumble about overprotective sisters and sulk on his futon.

Tsunade-sama was delighted to see her and Shizune had prepared a very big dinner. More like a feast actually. They also got to see Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama's husband, after he had gotten back from his trip to another village. After the feast the two had gotten way too drunk and Sakura had sent Yoshirou after witnessing their heavy 'kissy-kissy session' as Yoshirou called it.

The two somehow managed to get to their room of course not without breaking some shogi-doors and making halls in the walls. If Tsunade-sama got a fit while she was drunk it wasn't pretty. Jiraiya-sama had received a huge bruise on the side of his head since he was being a sissy and just needed to 'take her already' if you know what I mean. Jiraiya-sama, of course, gladly complied. While the two were having a fun night the rest of the house was unfortunately unable to sleep and ended up listening to the 'wonderful sounds of love' as Jiraiya referred to them as. Poor Yoshirou had nightmares for weeks afterwards.

Sakura chuckled to herself as she walked next to Sasuke on their night shift.

"What's so funny?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing." she shook her head as a small smile lifted the corners of her lips.

"How is Yoshirou doing?" he asked.

"He is doing good. His wound is almost completely healed up." she said with a small smile.

"That's good." he said as he looked at the lit up lanterns that lined the porches of the houses.

"Thank you for being there for me, Sasuke-sama." Sakura said with her eyes lowered to the ground.

His eyes snapped to her lowered head and he smiled a genuine smile.

"You're welcome. I just did what anyone would have done." he said.

"But you didn't have to. You are our leader." she said as she lowered her head even more.

"But I wanted to." he said.

Her head snapped up to meet his eyes as he smirked.

"It doesn't matter what status I am. You are important to me so I wanted to be there for you." he said with a smile.

Her eyes widened at his statement and she thought she would loose her footing any moment now. Did she hear him right?

"N-Nani?" she asked.

"You heard me." he said with a smirk as he patted her head.

A small blush covered her cheeks as she turned her head away from him. This was a dream come true.

A loud shout interrupted the moment and their heads snapped back to the direction they came from.

Naruto was running towards them. His hair disheveled and his uniform torn in some places.

"We were ambushed at the west side of this district. I lured them here so we will have company in about few seconds." he said with ragged breathing as he drew his sword and got into the fighting stance. The other two did the same.

They were surrounded in a matter of seconds. People in black yukatas and masks drawn over their faces surrounded them. Bandits. No one moved. It was complete silence until a lone leafe drifted from one of the trees and slowly fell down to the ground. Once it landed the figures moved and the fight began.

Once again Sasuke moved with ease and grace as if it was a dance. He sliced through the opponents necks with one swift movement and took the others that came at him with the same ease. Naruto chose to be more brutal since his nature was nowhere as calm as Sasuke's. He stabbed and sliced the opponents with roars and battle cries. Sakura attacked making sure that the opponents were just injured but not dead. Which revealed her soft nature that was hidden under her well built exterior. Though she had no problem in killing her opponents when necessary. Men twice her size launched at her with big weapons but they were to slow and were on the ground writhing in pain before their weapons even came close to her form.

Shurikens whizzed past her head as she moved to the side and deflected a sword attack. As she delivered a blow with her sword she kicked the man behind her with her left foot before he had a chance to strike at Naruto. Naruto thanked her with a grin as he returned to his opponents lashing at them like a wild animal.

She glanced over at Sasuke and saw him gracefully slit the neck of yet another opponent. How could he have such a serene expression on his face as if he was just sitting and relaxing while drinking a cup of hot tea. Her eyes widened as more opponents started coming his way since they noticed that he was the biggest threat.

As Sakura kicked another man and sent him flying a few meters from her she saw a glint. She raised her eyes to the rooftop and saw a man ready to jump on Sasuke with swords in each of his hands raised. They glinted in the moonlight once more as he jumped. Sakura launched herself in Sasuke's direction hoping to get there in time to prevent the attack. Sasuke was too busy and didn't notice the figure until his shadow fell over him and he was too close.

Sakura pushed Sasuke to the side as she deflected the sword with hr sword. She did not have the time to deflect his attack with his other sword and it pierced her flesh. She kicked his in the stomach and launched at him as she slit his throat. The sleeve of her left arm became red as it soaked in the blood from the wound.

Sasuke shouted in her direction.

"I am fine." she replied as she sent a few poisoned senbons at the men charging at Naruto.

"Are you sure?" he shouted. Concern laced in his voice.

"Hai. It's just a scratch." she replied.

He looked at her skeptically and nodded hesitantly.

She winced at the movement as she felt the wound open up a bit more. It wasn't a simple scratch after all.

She looked around after she sliced the man's leg noticing about fifty bodies lying on the ground. Either writhing in pain or dead.

"Are you alright, Tadashi?" Naruto jogged over to her as he looked at his bloodied arm.

"Hai." she said as she put the sword back in it's sheath.

"A scratch doesn't bleed that much." Sasuke said as he pointedly looked at her arm.

"I am fine, Sasuke-sama. I'll take care of it." she said with a reassuring look.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Yoshirou fussed over her like a father once he saw her bloodied arm.

He cursed the Uchiha as he gathered the bandages and the ointment from the shelves in his room.

He quickly shut up after she questioned him about him not being in bed at this hour.

"I was waiting for you." he replied as he placed the items by her side. "This is the latest that you have ever gotten back." he said as she took off the top part of her uniform revealing her bandaged chest.

Yoshirou soaked the cloth in hot water and cleaned the wound. The gash that revealed itself wasn't very deep but was bleeding a lot. He tightly tied a bandage around her arm to stop the bleeding. She thanked him as she put back on he uniform. The door slid open just as she was retying the belt around her yukata.

Sasuke stood in the doorway and his eyes quickly traveled to the bloody cloth in the basin and then to her arm. He quickly walked over to her and sat down next to her as he carefully took her arm. She started pulling it back but his gentle but firm grip refused to let her arm free. He raised the sleeve and looked at the bandage as it was getting redder.

"How deep is it?" he asked with concern.

"It's just a scratch." she replied as she tried to pull her arm away again.

"It's deep." Yoshirou said with light growl as he glared at Sasuke which made him receive a disapproving look from Sakura.

Sasuke sighed and let her arm go.

"I am sorry. I wasn't careful and you got hurt." he said with a frown.

"Well you better be-" Yoshirou's scathing remark was cut short.

"Yoshirou!" Sakura said in a stern voice.

"Fine." he grumbled as he put away the supplies.

She looked at Sasuke's apologetic expression and gave a small reassuring smile.

"It's not a big deal, plus you are a first priority." she said.

"But-" he was cut off as she placed a hand on his hand.

"I am alive and sitting here with you, aren't I?" she said with a glint in her eyes.

He smiled and shook his head as he got up.

"Get some rest. You have a day off tomorrow." he said as he opened the shogi door.

"No, it's fine! I can-" she started to object.

"No, it's the least I can do." he said.

She sighed and nodded. "Good night, Sasuke-sama." she said.

"Good night." he replied with a small smile.

He slid the shogi doors shut and walked over to the wooden poll that was supporting the porch's roof.

"He should have given you five days off." he heard Yoshirou mutter which was followed by a thump.

"Heeey! What was that for?" he exclaimed as he whimpered.

"Stop being ungrateful." Sakura said.

Sasuke chuckled at the exchange and leaned against the poll as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He really was starting to experience more than friendly feelings towards Tadashi. He knew this was wrong but he could't do anything no matter how much he denied it.

He sighed once more as he headed to his own room.

A glowering figure with piercing blue eyes standing on the porch of the main Uchiha compound went unnoticed by him. Hell was about to break loose.

**A/N: I could have ended it right here since it is almost ten pages but I'll continue since I love you guys so much and I promised a super long chappie. he he he Things are about to get heated up! Kyaaa! I am so excited! **

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

She really thought the nightmares were over after not bothering her for a few weeks but life wasn't fair so she once again tossed around in a restless sleep.

_Flashback_

Her tiny wrists were tied up by the ropes that were attached to the ceiling. Each arm facing in different direction.

Her small form was clad in a dirty dark red yukata that did nothing to warm her up in the chilly winter weather.

Her knees were scraped as they rested on the wooden floor of the room. Her small feet scratched and numb from the cold.

Her eyes were downcast. A blank look on her face. No thoughts raised through her mind like they usually did. She didn't even acknowledge her surroundings. It was almost as if she was alone in the room and no sound was heard. But it wasn't true she just learned to ignore the voice of that low life animal and the whipping sounds against her skin.

No sound or reaction came from her.

Gone were the days where the harsh strikes of the whip made her cry out in pure agony and beg for him to stop as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction anymore. Which angered him even more.

"You useless piece of sh*t. How dare you be so ungrateful after we took you and your retarded brother!" he yelled as another harsh blow connected with her back.

She wanted to retort and lash out at him after what he said about her brother but she wouldn't give him the pleasure of receiving a reaction from her. Not now not ever.

"You two should just been killed with your spoiled parents. You are no use anyways." he growled as he kept giving harsher blows each time. Blood pooled at her feet as the yukata was completely torn and her whole back was exposed. Long red gashes oozing with blood were littered all over her back. More blood seeped through.

A panicked voice filled her ears.

"You are going to kill her. We will get in trouble." the man's wife said in her irritating screechy voice.

"Who cares if she dies? We can just throw her off a cliff." he said as he gave another harsh blow and walked to stand in front of her.

"Wothless piece of sh*t. Just like your parents." he said as he kicked her in the stomach.

A true heartless animal.

She coughed up blood but there wasn't even a whimper or a tear.

He untied her hands and dragged by her arm. As her body left a red trail of blood on the floor his wife complained about cleaning it up. He took her by the waist and held her to his side as her limp legs and arms dangled in the air.

Screeching and terrified cries of her brother reached her ears as they entered the hallway that led to the main entrance. She stared at the toddler with blank eyes as he stumbled after the man trying to grab her arm. His chubby cheeks flushed and tears spilling down his cheeks.

The man swung open the door almost ripping it off of its hinges and walked out. The cold winter wind hitting her body harshly. He threw her over the stairs and she landed in a big pile of snow. Her wounds seared with pain in contact with the snow. Her brother came flying next. Thankfully she caught him before he could be hurt and she fell back into the snow drained of any strength she might have had before.

"You two can freeze to death for all I care!" the man shouted before he slammed the door shut.

This is how their life has been for the past two years. Whipped for the stupidest reasons. Insulted and treated as slaves. This is how her father's brother and family treated them. Thankfully Yoshirou wasn't treated as bad and was only hit a few times. She did everything to keep her baby brother safe. She had taken hundreds of blows for her defenseless baby brother. She wouldn't let anyone hurt him if she could help it. He was the only precious treasure left in her life and she would hold on to it with all her strength.

She lay in the snow as she blankly stared at the cloudy sky. Snowflakes covered her bloody and beaten body. This was the harshest beating she had ever received in these two years. Yoshirou sat sprawled next to her sobbing and hiccuping at the sight of his sister's state. He was only a toddler but he understood what was happening. His sister was always beaten and bruised. He would lie by her side wailing as she bled. But this was the worst it had ever been.

She could barely feel her limbs. Her breaths were uneven and her lips trembled from the cold. Her body paled every minute. She was glad that Yoshirou was dressed warmer. She always made sure he was dressed warm to make sure he didn't catch a cold.

"Shhhh, o-onee-c-chan is h-here." she whispered weakly as she lifted her hand to touch his chubby cheek.

"O-Onee-chaaaaan..." he wailed as he cradled her hand in his small ones.

She smiled weakly.

She started crawling with the only strength she had left in her body. Behind that fence she would be free and if she would be to die now she did not want to die in this man's residence.

Her body protested at every move she made. Her hands scraped the icy snow and cut her skin with its sharp frozen edges. Her brother walked beside her as she crawled still wailing.

She heaved a sigh of relief once she was outside of the gates. Panic surged through her at the thought of what would happen to her baby brother if she died. What would happen if that man got his hands on him.

She moaned in pain as the side of her head connected with the icy ground. She started somewhere across the street her eyes hazy. There was a snow storm and you could barely see anything. Was this it? Was this how she would die? Was she kept alive only to go through hell and then die two years after?

Her whole body had become numb but the searing pain on her back never left as the cold wind harshly hit her bloodied back. What had she done to deserve this? Even her baby brother that hadn't done anything? So why were they going through this? She did not know.

She heard snow crunching under someone's feet but did not look up. She did not have any strength. The person's steps became hurried and then abruptly stopped as they reached her. A person leaned down and started shouting something. She did not know what since she was slowly losing consciousness. All she saw was light bangs framing the woman's face and panicked dark eyes as her lips continued to move without emitting a sound before Sakura blacked out. Kami-sama hadn't abandoned them after all.

_Flashback End_

Sakura sat up on her futon with a yelp as a thin layer of sweat covered her skin. She was panting slightly her back burned as if she had those same open wounds on her back. She grabbed for her sword when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Shhh, it's me." Naruto said as he looked at Tadashi with concerned eyes.

Sakura calmed down slightly at the familiar and comforting voice.

"Are you alright? You were whimpering in your sleep." he said.

She lowered her head and her bangs covered her face. Tears brimmed her eyes and she buried her face in her hands. Soft whimpers came from her as tears poured out of her eyes. She felt relief when she realized when it was another dream and not the reality. She was forever grateful to Tsunade-sama for saving them from death that night. She was eight and a half and Yoshirou was almost four at that time. Their parents would be very sad if they had died that night.

"Tadashi! What's wrong? Did I do something?" Naruto asked in a panicked voice.

She shook her head as she sniffed.

The shogi doors opened. Suigetsu stood in the doorway rubbing his eyes like a kid.

"What's the commotion in here? Can't we have some peace at night?" he asked as he yawned.

A pillow was thrown at his face.

"Can't you see that Tadashi is upset?" Naruto whisper shouted as he looked at Suigetsu with a disapproving look.

One glance at Tadashi's crying form and Suigetsu suddenly didn't look sleepy anymore.

He rushed to his other side and sat down by him.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly as he patted his back. He had been feeling strange around the kid lately and couldn't figure out why. He knew he had some kind of feelings towards him but did not know what kind. Now he finally realized what kind of feelings he had for the pink haired teen.

Tadashi just sniffed and shook his head.

"Oh, come on. You can tell me! You're like a little brother to me." Suigetsu said as he kept patting his back.

Tadashi's head snapped up to Suigetsu's face as the words left his lips.

"A-Arigatou." he said as he sniffed and then wiped his tears from his cheeks. What was she doing? She should never show any weakness! She could get her secret revealed if she acted carelessly. She inhaled slowly and exhaled in a sigh as she brought her emotions under control.

Naruto leaned into her line of sight and looked at her with a questioning look.

"Gomen. I just had a very bad dream." she said quietly.

"What was it about?" Suigetsu asked curiously.

Sakura shook her head as she laid back down on her futon and brought the covers up to her chin.

"Forgive me, for waking you two up." she said.

"It's alright." Naruto said with a grin and Suigetsu just shook his head as he sighed.

"Get some sleep, girly." Suigetsu said as he patted Sakura's head.

She didn't reply as she watched Suigetsu get up.

"Good night." Naruto said as he yawned and followed Suigetsu but not before bumping into the door and cursing under his breath.

Sakura sighed as the shogi door closed.

Why was this happening to her?

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

A few days had passed since Sakura hadn't had any dreams and got some sleep. She was thankful for that. Sasuke-sama hasn't been able to go to the patrols for over a week so she hadn't seen him for a while. He was loaded with meetings with the elders and the visitors from neighboring villages.

Sakura turned a another corner inside the main Uchiha compound saw Natsumi walking her way. Once their eyes met Sakura bowed as Natsumi came towards her and stopped.

"Hello, Tadashi-kun! I haven't seen you much lately." Natsumi said in a sweet voice.

"Yes, I have been busy lately, Natsumi-sama." Sakura replied as Natsumi smiled.

Natsumi smiled as she brought her hand up and traced Sakura's jawline.

"Nee, you're complexion is so small and you son't have the harsh angles to your face like the other guys. I like that." she said.

"N-Natsu-" Sakura was cut off as Natsumi silenced her with her finger and grabbed her hand.

"You're hands are not big and they are so soft." she said with a mischievous smile.

"What are you doi-" she was cut off once more as Natsumi hugged her.

Sakura started to pry her arms off of her but she just would't let go.

Natsumi's next words made her freeze.

"This will teach you to know your place. Don't you ever come near my Sasuke-kun." Natsumi said quietly with a devious smile as she slung her arms around Sakura's neck and pulled her towards herself.

Sakura stumbled and landed on top of her. Natsumi started touching her hair as she giggled and Sakura caught her arms and pinned her to the floor. Natsumi smirked as her eyes glinted.

"Kyaaaaaaa! Help me! " she screamed. Knowing that the guards weren't far away.

"What are you-" Sakura asked slightly panicked and irritated. When she realeased her grip Natsumi gripped her arms and wouldn't let go.

Natsumi kept screaming and 'strruggling'.

Sakura heard a shout and the next thing she knew she was lifted off of Natsumi. Her arms were brought behind her back and she was forced to her knees.

Natsumi cried as she shook and looked at her with scared eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" the guard shouted.

"This is Sasuke-sama's fiance and you dare lay a hand on her." the one holding her arms shouted.

"I didn't do any-" she stopped as her eyes widened in horror as she saw the figure appear from one of the rooms down the hallway.

"What is going on here?" Sasuke asked with a calm but irritated voice. His eyes narrowed and filled with worry once he saw Natsumi. She launched herself at him and started sobbing uncontrollably.

His eyes narrowed even more as his gaze drifted to the guards and then met with Sakura's widened in horror eyes.

"S-Sasuke-sama this s-soldier forced h-himself on Natsumi-sama." one of the guard said as he tried avoiding Sasuke's intense stare.

Sasuke lost all of his control once the guard told him what happened.

His eyes flared with anger as he glared at Sakura.

"You!" he shouted as he dashed towards Sakura. He grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and slammed her into the wall. The air left Sakura's lungs as she gasped. Sasuke grasped her by the neck and squeezed. His eyes seemed to turn a dark shade of red.

"Sasuke-kun, don't!" Natsumi shouted as she hugged him from the back.

He shook her off and dropped Sakura to the ground.

"Take him to the cells." he ordered as he stared down at Tadashi.

The guards obeyed and roughly lifted Sakura up and dragged her to the cells.

Natsumi smirked as she followed Sakura's form with her eyes.

Sasuke ordered one of the guards to take Natsumi to his mother as he started walking after the guards dragging Sakura.

The figure observing behind a corner went unnoticed as it rushed off somewhere.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura was brought down to a dark dungeon. Torches were placed on the walls and some cells had a small window with wooden bars which let in some light from outside. She was roughly thrown on the dirt ground of one of the cells. Sasuke entered the cell as he looked at her with cold and emotionless eyes.

"Leave us." he ordered. The guards nodded and closed the wooden cell's door.

Sasuke's eyes once again lit up with anger.

Sakura stood up from the ground. Sasuke punched her in the stomach as she slammed into the stone wall behind her. Blood spurted out of her mouth as he threw punches at her. He grabbed her by the collar and swung her away from the wall. He punched her in the face and she went flying to the ground.

"You piss of shit! I trusted you and this is what you do to me!" he shouted as he kicked her in the stomach.

"How dare you touch, Natsumi?" he shouts and grabs something that is hanging on the wall.

Something connects with her flesh and it takes a moment for her to realize what exactly it is and her eyes go wide.

A whip.

The all too familiar object connects with her flesh as she rolls away and coughs up more blood.

The whip slices through the skin on her back opening the old wounds and creating new ones. More and more red gashes appear on her body and they become deeper once the whip connects with the same spot it had hit before. He shouts at her and calls her names but she does not understand his words she just hears his angry voice and the whip which connects with her flesh.

He kicks her again as she rolls onto her side. The whip connects with the side of her face leaving a red line. The whip slices across her stomach and chest. Her chest bindings are ready to fall off since they are completely torn in the back. Her uniform is filled with holes and turns crimson anywhere it is torn.

Silent tears pour out of her eyes.

She does not utter a sound even though the wounds sting and searing pain is sent through her whole body once her back connects with the ground. The scene is all too familiar.

She does not cry because of the pain.

She cries because this is her strong, brave, kind, Sasuke-sama doing this to her. Only because of one person. Only because of one sentence. That is all it took for him to lose his control and do this to her.

'You are important to me.' his words echo in her mind as her eyes meet with his angry black ones. Rage burning in them. More tears come out as she let's out a sob. She notices that her voice sounds like her real one. It is not the lower tone that she uses when she is Tadashi.

Liar.

She is not important to him. Never was and never will. She just made it all up. That warm feeling that warmed her heart and soul when he said she was important. He just said it to make her seem important. She is important to him just as much as dirt on the roads of the village.

Another harsh slash against her back and everything stops. The door is swung open and collides with the wall as she sees his feet, walking away from her, through blurred vision. She let's out another chocked sob until there is nothing but the barely audible sound of her shattered heart beating erratically in her chest.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

A panting maid runs up to Yoshirou as he swings his sword.

"Y-Your brother! He w-was taken to the dungeon to be punished by Sasuke-sama." she says breathlessly.

He looks at her with confused expression before the information settles in and his eyes widen.

He runs.

Just like his sister had. He runs to her hoping that she is unharmed.

Runs using all his strength just like they both have done when the other one was in danger or trouble.

He does not know about the horrific scene that he will see once he gets to her side.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Muahahahahah. I am so evil. Another cliffy! *evil grin* I told you this was so much worse than the previous one. This is the longest chapter that I have ever written! Eighteen pages! Well seventeen and a half since the A/N takes up half of the page. Wasn't sure about leaving the scene with Suigetsu and Naruto comforting Sakura but ended up just leaving it there. Not pleased with it but oh well. The ending is the same as the last chapter you could say. he he Now click that review button. You want the next chapter to come faster right? he he Ja ne! =^_^=**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank****you****for****your****awesome****reviews!****They****make****me****so****happy!****I****started****on****the****new****chapter****on****the****next****day****after****I****read****your****reviews!****he****he****And****also****for****all****the****favorites****and****alerts!****There****will****be****some****more****drama****in****this****chapter****then****things****will****calm****down****a****bit****and****then****it****will****start****again****and****some****terrible****and****unexpected****things****will****happen.****Okaaay.****I****am****giving****out****too****much****stuff.****Oh****and****I****forgot****to****mention****this****in****the****last****A/N!****The****previous****chapter****was****dedicated****to**xHeartofBlazexX**!****You****are****amazing****girl!****Thank****you****for****giving****me****constructive****criticism****and****just****being****plain****awesome!****I****am****glad****you****like****this****story!****Check****out****her****stories!****They****are****amazing!****=^_^=****Enjoy!****And****click****that****blue****review****button.****=^_^=**

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

What the hell was going on?

Yoshirou did not know but he would make sure to find out.

Anger filled him as he rushed past people. If that bastard laid a finger he would beat him to a pulp. He grabbed one of the maid's arms and asked where the dungeon was after realizing he was running around without knowing where he was supposed to go. The maid told him with startled eyes and a stuttering voice. He thanked her and continued running the direction he was previously heading to. So he did know where he was going. Somehow.

He bumped into someone on the way but didn't stop.

"Oi, kid!" someone shouted and Yoshirou stopped and turned around panting.

Suigetsu was scowling at him and Naruto grinned a he waved at him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto asked as he saw a worried expression on Yoshirou's face and his smile wavered.

"Sa-Tadashi is in trouble." Yoshirou replied and continued running down the hall as he turned the corner. He heard hurried steps behind him a few seconds later. The two caught up to him as they sprinted past everyone.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. Worry and confusion filling his voice.

"I don't know." Yoshirou replied and ran faster as he saw about six guards guarding a door.

He went for one of them and flung him roughly to the side.

"Go, kid. We'll take care of them." Suigetsu said with a serious expression.

Yoshirou thanked him and yanked the door open. Cold air met him and he ran down the stairs as he stumbled a bit in the dark. He ran past all the cells and stopped once he caught sight of someone in his peripheral vision. As he looked in into the cell his eyes widened in horror at the sight.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke sat on the floor of his working room reading some scrolls that would need to be signed soon.

Anger was radiating off of him.

How dare that pink-haired piece of shit touch his Natsumi. He earned his trust and now he was forcing himself on his fiance. Unforgivable.

Sasuke growled and threw the scroll at the wall. He will deal with that one later.

The shogi doors opened and his brother stepped in. A maid followed him in and bowed to Sasuke. As the maid slid the door shut Itachi looked down at his brother with a disapproving look.

"What?" Sasuke snarled at the look his brother gave him.

"You know better than to act irrationally." Itachi said as he seated himself in front of his brother.

"What was I supposed to do?" Sasuke replied as anger sipped through every word.

"Get his side of the story." was his brother's simple answer.

"No. There were witnesses. I got all the evidence I needed from them. Plus, one look at Natsumi told me everything." Sasuke said as he picked up a scroll and tried to read it but the words were just a jumbled mess.

"You're so foolish little brother. You never listen to anyone. So many people have told you of Natsumi's behavior yet you deny it." Itachi said as he shook his head.

"Because it's not the truth. They are just jealous and want to make Natsumi look bad." Sasuke said as he glared at his brother and than the maid that was covering behind his brother's form.

"When did you become so naive? That woman has blinded your mind. Everything people say about her is true. She flirts with other men and she is not nice and swee-" he was rudely interrupted.

"No! Shut up! You have no right to talk about Natsu-" Sasuke was silenced as his brother grabbed him by the collar.

"Face the truth. Stop acting like a child. Because of that whore you hurt an innocent person. A person who is completely loyal to you." Itachi gritted out as he glared at his younger brother.

"If he was loyal to me he wouldn't have done what he did. He deserved it." was Sasuke's reply. Itachi flung him into the wall.

"I have a witness here. She witnessed the whole scene." Itachi said as he glared at his brother and then motioned for the maid to speak.

"I-I was headed to help with the cleaning of the meeting room when I walked in on Tadashi-san's and Natsumi-sama conversation. She was flirting with Tadashi-san and tried forcing herself on him but he pulled away from her. She flung her arms around him and brought him to the floor with her making it look like he was harassing her." the maid finished with her eyes lowered to the floor. Itachi looked at his brother's slightly widened eyes.

"Y-You believe her? She is lying! Natsumi would never do that!" Sasuke shouted.

"This is one of my most loyal maids and she has worked in the Uchiha compound for years. You know the truth. I know you have noticed her behavior." Itachi stated.

Sasuke looked down onto his lap. He thought of Natsumi's behavior and admitted that he had been in denial. But how could his sweet Natsumi-chan do these kinds of things and change so drastically? he questioned himself. His eyes widened and snapped to Itachi's disapproving ones. Everything that he did to Tadashi rushed through his mind.

He quickly got up from the floor and stumbled towards the shogi doors. His head was a bit dizzy after being flung into a wall.

"You have just made the biggest mistake in your life." Itachi said loud enough for Sasuke to hear before he left the room.

How right he was.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Yoshirou's eyes were widened in horror as he realized that the bloody form on the floor was his sister.

No.

He sprinted to her side. Her dull lifeless eyes filled him with horror. Her pale skin covered in blood. Slash marks covered her small body. She laid like a lifeless form on the floor as tears poured out of her eyes. They seemed to stare off somewhere.

"Sakura!" he screamed. No reply. Not a twitch of her fingers. Her face was devoid of emotion. A blank and pale face covered in blood.

No.

No.

No.

The word kept repeating in his head.

This could not be happening. She did not deserve this. She did not deserve to go through this again. She had endured too much for this to happen to her again.

No.

Her chest bindings were torn. Slightly revealing her breasts but not enough to make one realize that she was a female. He gently scooped her in his arms and brought her head to his chest. She was cold.

His being filled with dread when his fingers touched her back. He turned her slightly to examine the damage. There wasn't a single spot on her back that did not have blood on it. There were so many marks from the whip that the flesh almost looked mangled. His eyes looked over the rest of her body. Her arms and legs were also covered in blood and deep gushes. Even her beautiful face had whip marks.

Rage filled his being but was soon replaced by a greater emotion.

Tears started pouring out of his eyes at the sight of his sister's broken body.

She did not deserve this.

No.

But he knew that her heart was completely shattered. Because the person she admired so much did this to her. Because the person she dearly loved did this to her. Yoshirou knew how she felt about him. The love she felt for him just radiated off of her whenever she talked about him. She just didn't realize it herself.

That bastard.

He would pay. He would pay for the pain he caused his onee-chan.

He placed her across his lap as he took off his haori and placed it over her body. Yoshirou had gotten much taller and his shoulders were much broader so the haori was a bit too big for her body. He covered her whole body and gently picked her up in his arms. She was so light. Just like a feather. How could someone hurt such a small being? But the fact that confused him was why did she not defend herself? She could take Sasuke on without a problem.

"Oi! We beat-" Naruto's grin dropped as he stopped in his tracks and stared at the boy illuminated by the light coming from the small window. His eyes slowly traveled down to the body in his arms.

"Kid..." Suigetsu joined them but trailed off as he noticed Naruto staring with widened eyes.

Yoshirou slowly came out of the cell. The body was illuminated by the torches hung on the walls. The blood had already covered the haori and dripped off of her feet. Naruto gulped. A second later his face contorted into an expression of anger.

"We got to get her to a doctor!" Suigetsu said in a worried voice.

Yoshirou was obviously in shock. He shook his head and nodded as he started walking in the fast pace. Sakura's body was becoming colder.

As Yoshirou reached the top of the stairs he kicked the door open and walked to the exit of the main compound. Gasps were heard as the maids stared at the bloody body with widened eyes. The two usually very loud men walked behind him in silence.

What happened next made Yoshirou's blood boil.

Sasuke rounded a corner and stopped as he panted slightly. Once he saw the figures walking towards him his eyes widened. His eyes immediately darted to the body that was held in the young man's arms. A cold shiver passed through his body. The earlier events flashed in his mind as he frowned. He was horrified by the actions he had taken earlier.

Yoshirou was about to pass by Sasuke but stopped and gave him a heated glare filled with rage. He was sure the bottled up anger would burst any second now.

"Are you satisfied now, _Sasuke-sama_?" Yoshirou asked icily but said his name with mockery.

Sasuke just stared at him without a reply. Guilt slowly creeping into his soul.

"You bastard!" was all Sasuke heard before he was punched in the jaw and flew into a wall.

He fell down with a loud thud.

As he wiped away the blood trickling from his mouth he was lifted up from the ground and slammed into the wall. His mind still hazy from the impact. His eyes met angry violet ones.

Sasuke angrily grabbed the man's hand and shoved it away.

"Is this what you do when you are not your cocky self? You beat up an innocent kid who has done nothing wrong?" Suigetsu spat with fury laced in his voice.

"Who the hell are you to question me?" Sasuke bit back. His composure disappearing in an instant.

He glanced at where Yoshirou stood and cursed under his breath.

While his attention was occupied by this nuisance Yoshirou had left.

He received another blow to his face.

Now it was Naruto's turn to question his actions.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Yoshirou had been speechless once he got a better look at Sakura's wounds.

He had cleaned them up and hoped the wounds hadn't gotten infected by all the dirt that had entered the gashes. There was a very high risk of infection.

He had bandaged her up with Ino's, Hinata's, and Tenten's help. They had all rushed to his room when they heard of the news. He was freaked out when they saw his sister's body since it was obvious that she was a female. He had calmed down once they informed him about knowing Sakura's secret.

Suigetsu and Naruto acted as bodyguards outside of Yoshirou's room since everyone wanted to see how bad the kid was beaten by Sasuke.

Yoshirou massaged his hands as he sat near Sakura's futon. It was his habit to do that when he was nervous.

It has been five days since the incident and Sakura has been running a high fever. She had, after all, gotten an infection in one of her wounds. He had discovered it this morning when he had changed the bandages. The area around a certain wound on her back was inflamed.

Sakura moaned in pain as her eyebrows twitched. She still hadn't regained consciousness but she made it clear with her groans and moans that she was in great deal of pain.

Yoshirou took the rag off her forehead and dipped it in the basin with cold water.

Sakura shivered once he placed the rag back onto her forehead.

Yoshirou had ran out of all the ointment that Tsunade had given him on the third day of looking after his sister. He thought Sakura would pull through this without any complications and didn't contact Tsunade right away. He was sure Sakura wouldn't want to make her worry. He was wrong.

He had been informed an hour ago by a messenger that Tsunade was out of the village. Even though word has been sent to her and Shizune had already started to prepare special ointment for the wounds it still didn't make Yoshirou feel better. Sakura's fever was getting higher and there was very little he could do to make the fever go down. The inflamed wound needed to be treated immediately.

He heard shouts outside the room and scowled once he recognized a certain voice.

That bastard was back again. He had been trying to get into the room for days but thankfully Naruto, Suigetsu, and the other soldiers from their compound restrained him. He had no right to even look at his sister let alone be in the same room as her.

Days passed by agonizingly slowly. Droplets of water seemed to pour down Sakura's face in buckets. Though she had become paler her bright red cheeks indicated just how high her fever was.

It has been over two days since the word to Tsunade was sent and she was still not back. Thankfully, Shizune had finished the ointment that would heal Sakura's wounds faster and had disinfected the inflame wound better.

Yoshirou watched Sakura's pained expression as she seemed to gasp for air as beads of sweat rolled down her face. Even though she was burning up she seemed to be cold since her shivering became much more noticeable. It was a weird thing about her. Whenever she had a high fever she would get cold and no matter how many yukatas she put on or with how many blankets she covered she would still be cold.

He was sure it was past midnight now by looking where the moon was located in the sky. His eyes threatened to close as he sat leaning against the wall and staring into space.

He was snapped bak to reality once he hard loud and rushed footsteps outside.

The door was roughly slid open and threatened to break.

Relief washed over him and a sigh escaped his lips as he saw the familiar blonde head and worried honey eyes staring right at him in a narrowed gaze.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Yes,****I****know****it****was****super****short.****Gomen.****Even****though****I****started****on****this****chapter****right****after****the****previous****one****and****had****it****half****done****for****some****time****now****I****haven****'****t****been****very****inspired****to****write****lately.****I****don****'****t****know****when****I****'****ll****update****since****I****am****sure****the****upcoming****week****will****be****a****hectic****one****but****I****will****try****to****post****the****next****chapter****soon.****Oh****and****this****chapter****is****dedicated****to**Kaze and Kiba**!****Thank****you****for****your****amazing****criticism!****I****will****pay****much****more****attention****to****the****way****i****write****now.****I****hope****this****chapter****is****a****bit****better****than****the****last****one.****You****are****awesome!****Please****review****people!****Ja****ne!****=^_^=**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh my god! Thank you for your wonderful reviews! They brought my spirits back up and I feel inspired to write now! he he he One of the reviewers had asked some questions and I am sure you all might noticed these so called 'plot holes'**

**IMPORTANT!**

**Answers to Fan's questions:**

**Yes, I know these people must be really dense not to find out that Sakura is a female. But, I'll just blame their trust in people and Sakura's awesome female body parts hiding skills. lol The reason for Sakura's clothes not being taken off before she was whipped is because Sasuke was royally pissed and he couldn't care less about her clothes. He just wanted to make her feel pain for touching his precious Natsumi (biotch). So he just whipped her senseless until she was bleeding buckets of blood and her clothes were torn to shreds. Once again his vision was covered by fury so he didn't pay much attention to anything. **

**I actually thought about writing the part about Sasuke not being able to enter the room for some time before including it in the chapter. Just put Naruto being his best friend, Sasuke feeling immense guilt, and a certain someone's help which sums it up to Sasuke not being let into the room. It will be revealed in more detail during this chapter.**

**I understand your questions perfectly so don't worry! :) You just asked some questions about the things you did not understand so don't worry about your review looking like a flame because it doesn't! Hopefully this answered your questions and if you have anymore free feel to ask! =^_^= **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, everyone! Thank you for your support! =^_^=**

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Naruto stared at Sasuke with a smug expression as Sasuke glared at him.

"No matter how much you try, you won't get past us." Naruto said as he motioned towards Suigetsu.

"Let me in." Sasuke growled out as he bore holes into Naruto's head.

"Nope." Naruto replied.

"I'll kick you out of here." Sasuke threatened.

"You already said that. Have you forgotten that Itachi has our backs? So you are powerless." Naruto replied with a mischievous grin.

"Get out of here before you get another beating from me, Uchiha." Suigetsu muttered with a glare.

"You-" Sasuke was interrupted as he was shoved to the side and almost fell off the porch.

He regained his balance and stared with a bewildered expression at the back of someone's blonde head.

"Tsunade-sama!" Yoshirou exclaimed. Relief evident in his voice.

Tsunade tried to regain her breathing as she looked at Yoshirou. She ran like a wild dog through the compound once she had shouted questions at a bony soldier that was passing by. She was sure he had an accident when she grabbed him by the collar and asked, more like shouted at him, where Tadashi was. Her eyes trailed to the figure of her student and her eyes widened. She immediately rushed to her side and dropped on her knees.

She checked the pulse. Her eyebrows furrowed at how hot Sakura's skin was. As Tsunade started to pull down the blankets covering Sakura's body Yoshirou stood up to close the door. His eyes met the coal ones that had been staring at his sister's body just a few seconds before. He slid the door shut right in his face while giving him an icy look.

Tsunade turned Sakura to her side and she moaned in pain. Tsunade gave a silent apology as she started to unwrap the bindings.

"Yoshirou, help me out." Tsunade said.

Yoshirou did as he was told. Tsunade unwrapped the bindings as he held Sakura's body on it's side.

Tsunade was alarmed at the amount of gashes on Sakura's back. Fury started to cloud her thoughts but she shook it off as the doctor in her took over. Thankfully pus was coming out of the inflamed gash. It was better than having it all inside and possibly spreading to the other wounds.

She instructed Yoshirou on the things she would need to 'clean' up Sakura and create an ointment to heal the inflamed area.

She sighed as she looked at Sakura's pained expression. The fever worried her but she hoped it would go down once the inflamed area would be treated.

She would have to get the answers to the hundreds of questions running through her mind later. She needed to focus on Sakura now.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Everything around him froze once he laid his eyes on Tadashi's bandaged body.

His cheeks were bright pink. Almost red. He was gasping for air with a pained expression on his face.

He had wanted to enter the room since he got the chance but after he witnessed the condition Tadashi was in his body refused to move. Guilt started eating away at his insides once again. His eyes traveled to the figure that had stopped before him. His eyes met with icy bluish green eyes. The doors were slid shut with a thud.

What had he been thinking? He had never lost his cool like that. This was all because of a woman? He did not understand how such a stupid incident made him make such a horrible decision. He was always the one to think clearly when he was in tough or unexpected situations. His emotions never got the better of him no matter how he felt. So why had they clouded his mind now?

Natsumi had tried talking to him and apologizing once she realized that the truth was revealed but he would have none of it. He ignored her and shoved her away any time she tried to make physical contact. He did not want to look at her. Her scent alone sickened him. How had the woman he loved so much become so repulsive after such a small and almost insignificant event?

No. It wasn't insignificant. She had lied and caused a scene for her unknown selfish reasons. A person who he was supposed to watch after had gotten hurt by his own hands. She has been flirting and hanging off the necks of other men even though she was engaged to him. How had he not seen this before? Why had he denied it for so long?

Did he ever truly love her? Had he made himself believe that he loved her because of all the pressure from his parents to find a wife? Yes. That was exactly it. So whatever he felt before was all false. Just a trick of his mind and heart. He shook his head as he walked away from the closed doors. A bittersweet smile appeared on his lips.

How foolish of him.

An Uchiha's mind being occupied by false emotions and feelings.

What did he feel for Natsumi then?

He wasn't sure anymore.

But he was sure of one thing. He did not ever want to see the face of that lying whore.

Tadashi's pained expression flashed in his mind and he stopped abruptly.

How could he hurt such a fragile being?

Tadashi had become such a close person to him without him fully realizing it until now. He was almost as close as Naruto. He always listened to him and gave him advice. He had a soothing effect on him. He was sure he would have fallen in love with him if he was a woman. But he didn't deny that he had feelings for him and they were more than just friendly feelings. What had he come to?

He came out of his thoughts and continued his walk.

He probably needed to threaten Itachi so he would stop backing up Naruto and the others.

He needed to see Tadashi.

He did not know if he would be forgiven but at least he hoped.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Who the hell did this?" Tsunade asked as she looked at Yoshirou with fury in her eyes.

He cowered from her gaze as he answered.

"S-Sasuke Uchiha." he stuttered out.

She growled as she looked back at Sakura.

She stood up and walked towards the door with determined steps.

That son of a b*tch.

She slammed the doors open and the two men outside jumped in their places.

She did not know what was the reason for his actions and she did not care.

No one had the right to do this to Sakura. She had gone through so much and she did not deserve it. No matter what she did.

She stomped down the hallway. Making sure everyone knew that she was here and that she was pissed.

She knew exactly where she was going.

Maids and soldiers scattered out of her way. Feeling her dangerous aura meters away.

She came to a stop in front of a door and stopped.

She inhaled deeply and slammed the shogi doors open.

Uchiha Fugaku's dark brown eyes met her furious ones.

He scowled.

"I am busy right now. As you can see there is a meetin-" his flinch at her booming voice went unnoticed by the other occupants of the meeting room. She was angry and it wasn't good.

"I don't give a damn! Where is that excuse of a son of yours?" her voice boomed through the compound.

"What are you-" he started to asked as confusion laced his voice.

"Sasuke!" she said with malice.

"I don't-" Fugaku started to answer but her attention was not on him anymore.

Her head snapped to the side as she heard footsteps.

The damn prick was walking towards her with a frown.

She stomped towards him and grabbed him by the collar of his yukata.

He barely registered what was happening as a fist met his cheek and he went flying backwards. Who was pissed off at him this time?

He grumbled as he tried to sit back up as very colorful words were thrown at him.

As his vision became clearer he registered that a blonde woman was stomping towards him. The woman grabbed him by the collar and shook him as she screamed right in his face.

He was dropped to the floor as the woman was pulled away by at least eight soldiers.

He stared at her struggling form as she screamed right in his father's face.

Was she trying to get herself killed?

He rubbed his cheek as he unsteadily got up.

"Tsunade, calm down." Fugaku said calmly as he placed his hands on he shoulders.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN! You're asking me to calm down when that piece of shit did that to my son!" she screeched right in Fugaku's face as she shoved, the last soldiers that remained on their feet, to the ground.

'_Yeah,__she__would__get__tortured__and__then__killed-wait.__What?__Her__son?__' _Sasuke thought as his eyes widened.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The first thing she felt when she awoke was the burning pain all over her back. Her eyebrows scrunched in pain as she hissed and tried to turn to her side. Her whole body burned at the movement. She heard a gasp as hurried footsteps came towards her. Warm arms gently gripped her upper body and tried to help her find a comfortable position.

"You shouldn't move too much, onee-chan." her brother said as he looked at her with concerned eyes.

She tried to open her eyes but regretted it once the bright light from outside hit her eyes. She brought her hand to her eyes trying to ignore all the whip marks that seemed to open up a bit at her movements. She removed her hand when the throbbing in her head subsided. She was about to voice her confusion at what had happened before everything came rushing back.

His angry voice, furious eyes, hurtful accusations and insults. She let out a shaky breath as she tried to sit up. Her eyebrows scrunched up once more. Once she sat up with her brother's help she began to examine her injuries. She had whip marks all over her arms and legs. She was sure her whole body was covered in whip from the burning all over her body. She did not want to know what her back looked like. It would bring back to many bad memories. She wouldn't be able to handle it in the state she was currently in.

A cup of warm tea was brought in front of her face and she turned her head to look at her brother. She had forgotten about his presence in the room while she was lost in her own thoughts. He weakly smiled at her and brought the cup to her lips. He wouldn't let her hold the cup when she tried to hold it herself. She sipped the tea in silence. The warm liquid pleasantly running down her throat.

"You have been unconscious for six days." Yoshirou said quietly as he placed the cup near her futon.

"Nani?" she asked surprised. Her voice was slightly hoarse.

"You had an infection and were running a high fever. Thankfully Tsunade-sama came here in time and took care of your wounds.

"Tsunade-sama is here?" Sakura asked.

He nodded as he looked at her carefully.

She turned her attention to her folded hands resting on her lap. Her mind was in such disarray. There were so many questions, so many thoughts, yet her mind seemed to be blank at the same time. She did not know what to ask and what to feel. Her mind wondered to Sasuke. A lump formed in her throat as she debated on asking about him.

"How is Sas-" she was cut off by her brother's angry reply.

"That son of a b*tch is"-

A slap resounded in the room.

Sakura stared at him weakly yet with anger evident in her eyes. Yoshirou held his cheek as his eyes moved back and forth between her raised hand and face.

"Don't disrespect him like that." she reprimanded weakly.

Yoshirou's face twisted in anger as he got up from his position.

"You are defending him after what he has done to you?" he hissed out with disbelief.

Silence met his question.

"Look at yourself! And you are talking about respect? He has disrespected you! He stomped all over your feelings, loyalty, and body! I don't care anymore about you repaying him. He does not deserve your loyalty and he sure as hell does not deserve your affection!" he shouted as he stomped out of the room and slammed the shogi door shut.

The urge to defend Sasuke had come from within her. It was like a natural instinct to her. The urge to defend him had not been in harmony with her current feelings though. She was so confused.

She did not want to admit it but Yoshirou was right.

What was she to do now?

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

She reassured the girls that she was fine even though she wasn't.

Her body felt like it was on fire and the wounds stung every time she moved. She could not lay on her back or sides. The pain was bearable enough for her. This was the worst she has ever been whipped but she knew her body would recover after some time. She wasn't so sure about her mind though.

She knew she wasn't supposed to be walking around but she could not just lay around all day. Thankfully, her friends were there to help her move around. She had to have someone support her since her body was still weak. Though walking brought pain, since the cuts would open up, it was better than being locked up in that room.

She had encountered Sasuke multiple times. He apologized and tried talking to her but she didn't spare him a glance. She just ignored him. She did not know what she felt. One part of her was angry for doing this to her and jumping to conclusions but another part wanted to forgive him and tell him it was alright.

If the girls walked with her it would end up in hissed out insults from Ino and Tenten. Ino and Tenten had even tried to physically hurt him but were restrained by the boys. If any of the guys walked her than it ended up in glares and fights.

Sakura came out of her thoughts once the door opened and Yoshirou walked in. He ignored her stare and talked to the girls like nothing was wrong but everyone felt the tension between the two. They hadn't talked in days. A part of her regretted snapping at him but another part argued that he had no right to insult Sasuke.

Yoshirou quietly placed the food and tea near Sakura's futon as he talked to the girls. Even though he smiled his eyes were dull. She hated seeing him like this. The fact that she was the reason for his behavior made guilt eat away at her heart.

"U-Um, we should be leaving. Shikamaru had something to talk to me about." Ino said as she stood up.

"Yeah, I have to meet up with Neji." Tenten said as she headed towards the door.

"I hope you get well soon, Sakura-chan." Hinata whispered with a small smile.

Sakura nodded. A few seconds later the room became quiet.

There was a tense silence between the two.

"You should eat." Yoshirou said quietly.

Sakura's head turned towards his from surprise. It's the first time he said something to her in the past few days. She didn't respond as she watched him take the onigiri from the plate. She did not take it. She just looked at his extended hand.

He sighed and put the onigiri back on the plate. He took the blanket that lay at his side and carefully draped it over her small shoulders. He stopped his actions once her small hand grasped his wrist. He jerked his wrist away.

"Please..." she whispered as she clung to his sleeve.

He sat down and stared down at his lap. His hands fisted as he felt her hand on his cheek.

She gently touched the place where she had slapped him. She did not mean to hurt him. It was an automatic response to his accusations. Her cool hand trembled and he noticed drops off water falling onto his lap. His eyes widened once he realized that she was crying.

"Onee-c-" she shook her head at him.

She shuffled and stood on her knees in front of him. Two of her hands grasped the sides of his face tenderly. She kissed his forehead gently and brought his head to her chest as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Forgive me, Yoshi-chan." she whispered.

His eyes widened in shock. She hasn't called him that since their parents died. He remembered her happy face when she called him that. He was just a toddler at that time.

He knew this was hard for her. He knew that she was confused. Uchiha Sasuke meant so much to her but the bastard did not deserve her. He made her suffer. He had no idea how many bad memories it brought back to the two. How much it affected her.

He could not stay mad at his onee-chan for too long and he wouldn't force himself. She needed him now so he wrapped his arms around her and smiled once he heard her relieved sigh.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura slid open the shogi door as she supported herself with her other arm. The wind made the loose strands of hair that escaped her bun flutter. She closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the sound of the wind chimes.

Yoshirou had gone to an early morning patrol that was assigned to his team. She was sure he wouldn't be back for another six hours. She was glad that he could take his mind off of things. He had stayed by her side this whole time and it took a while to get him to go to the mission. She exited the room and slowly walked over to one of the poles that supported the roof over the porch.

She started walking to the direction of the garden. She wanted to have some time to think things through somewhere comfortable. It was impossible to think in that room. It was simply suffocating in there. She took unsteady steps as she used the poles for support.

She heard foot steps and turned her head back to take a look. She regretted it the moment she saw him. She turned her head back and kept walking like she didn't see him. She knew her actions must have looked unmanly but she really did not care.

"Tadashi!" he yelled across the porch as his foot steps turned into a light job. He was by her side in a few seconds.

She wobbled a little and made an attempt to steady her but she slapped his hand away.

"Please, don't touch me, Sasuke-sama." she said in an emotionless tone.

"Tadashi, forgive me! I-I did not mean-" she interrupted him.

"What has been done is done. There is nothing you can do about it now." she replied without sparing him a glance.

"Then why are you acting like this?" he asked. She was sure he was getting frustrated with her.

"Because it is easier for me this way." she replied. She was lost in her thoughts once again.

"Easier?" he asked. Confusion evident in his voice.

She simply nodded.

A frustrated sigh escaped him. He knew he wouldn't think twice about it if it were another soldier. But it wasn't. This was Tadashi. He had become his friend. No. He was more than a friend. What he felt for him scared him because he knew that it was wrong. But it was so right at the same time.

She started walking away from him.

He grabbed Sakura's arm but she tore it away from his strong grasp.

That's when he lost it.

He grabbed her by the shoulder and her around. When Sakura struggled to release the strong grip he held on her but was slammed into the pole a few seconds later. She winced and hissed at the contact. The infected wound had started to close up only a few days ago. She was sure it was bleeding now.

"Listen to me, damn it." he growled out as he held her shoulders firmly.

She refused to meet his gaze and he grabbed her chin.

He realized just how beautiful Tadashi was. Big apple-green eyes, small nose, and pouty lips. He would be the perfect woman for any man. But he wasn't.

Sakura stared at his angry eyes and it reminded her of how angry he was when he whipped her.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw the tears build up in her beautiful green eyes.

Her lip quivered and she looked away.

"P-Please, don't do this to me." she whispered. Her voice was a bit hoarse but thankfully she was able to talk with the manly voice she used around others.

When the first tear hit Sasuke's hand, that had a firm hold on her chin, he withdrew it like it was on fire.

His face scrunched up at the sight of crying Tadashi. His eyebrows furrowed once the realization that he caused this hit him.

He did not know why Tadashi was acting this way. He always seemed like the collected type that would never show his emotions but he guessed his observations were wrong. He noticed that he was the only one who got to see this side of Tadashi though.

Sakura tore from his grasp before her tears started streaming down her face.

She hated that she was being in front of him. She hated for not being strong enough to keep her emotions in check whenever she was with him. She did not cry from the burning feeling on her back. She cried because he hurt her. The one she was so devoted to and still is. The physical pain was nothing compared to the betrayal she felt.

She was so happy when she gained his trust, when he opened up to her, and confined in her. The fact that it took so little to forget about her loyalty and friendship and jump to conclusions cut so deep. Is that how little she meant to him? She chuckled at the thought. Of course. What could she possibly mean to him?

She cried because she knew they could never be anything more than friends. She knew it from the start. From the time she was a foolish little kid. She promised to never get married and have a life of her own if that what it took to make him happy. She would throw her life away for him. That's how much she loved him. She did not know that it would hurt so much. She did not have the slightest idea that the person she so dearly loves would hurt her this much.

It was useless to feel sorry for herself. This was her choice and here were the consequences. Not a single choice ever went without a consequence. Wasn't she doing a good thing by repaying him? So why did Kami-sama do this to her? Did she deserve this? Was she to suffer her entire life?

Sasuke watched Tadashi's shaking shoulders. He could not see his face since his back faced him but he was sure tears were uncontrollably streaming down his face.

"Forgive me for my behavior. Please, leave me alone, Sasuke-sama." she whispered in a hoarse voice as she hiccuped.

She took a few steps but abruptly stopped.

A gasp escaped her lips when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her.

Everything around them seemed to stop.

He placed his head on her right shoulder and inhaled her sweet scent.

She stood still and his arms tightened around her. The burning in her back seemed to disappear as the warmth radiating from his chest seemed to soothe any pain she might have felt.

"I won't. I won't ever let you go." he murmured with so much affection.

"S-Sasuke-sama..." she whispered.

"I don't care what anyone says. I want you to be by my side forever. This might be wrong but to me...to me...it is wrong to exist without you." he whispered in her ear.

She hiccuped as tears spilled down her flushed cheeks.

"Y-You don't know w-what you're s-saying." she said as she struggled to wiggle out of his embrace.

"I do. I have never been serious as I am now." he said as he released her and spun her around.

"N-No. Y-You must be running a f-fever." she said as she looked at him with bewildered eyes. His words made her so happy yet so sad. He surely didn't know what he was saying. Sasuke would never do or say such things.

"Tadashi!" Sasuke almost shouted at the confused boy in front of him.

"It's impossible. N-No!" she almost shouted as she shook her head.

He grasped her by the wrists that she held up to wipe away her tears. They stared at each other's eyes for a moment.

"Everything is possible." he whispered before he brought her to him and crashed his lips onto hers.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Muahahahahahaha. I am so evil. Not updating for nearly a month and leaving you with such a cliff hanger. I am so sorry for the lack of updates. The past few weeks have been so hectic. The last scene was not a part of this chapter but it kinda came to me and I wanted to include it really bad. I thought of revealing Sakura's identity in the last scene but I included the kiss instead. I am debating on whether to have all the drama and action to happen in the next chapter or the one after that. I don't want this to drag on so the story might be finished in two or three chapters. I did not want Sakura's 'grudge' to drag on for another chapter so I made them kinda reconcile. Thank you for your patience everyone! I am pretty sure I won't be updating before Christmas. Hopefully I can write the next chapter and post it before the New Year. Of course teachers like to torture us so I have homework to do over my break. T_T Merry early Christmas everyone! =^_^=**


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura's eyes were wide with shock.

What the hell just happened?

She was fighting hard not to close her eyes and give in to the kiss. This was wrong.

His lips so soft and his strong arms embracing her. Wasn't this what she always secretly dreamed of? Yet, it felt so wrong. It almost seemed forced. It's like he did it to prevent her from leaving and losing her mind. Maybe, that's exactly what it was.

She wanted to slap him but she did not have the strength to do it. Her feelings would not allow it. He was still precious to her even after what he has done. Sometimes she despised her forgiving nature.

The kiss felt like hours but it only lasted a few seconds.

She pushed him away, making him stumble.

"This is wrong and impossible. You have Natsumi-sama." she answered with seriousness in her voice. It was hard to suppress all the emotions she felt. She wanted to break down and be in his arms but she resisted. She would no longer be weak in front of him.

"Don't mention that whore." he growled out.

She was slightly taken aback by his reply. His precious Natsumi-chan was now a whore?

"You shouldn't speak about your fiance like that." she replied. She would probably be beaten for telling a person in such a high rank what to do if she were anyone else.

"She always was. I just refused to admit my suspicions. But the last event made me admit it and fully opened up my eyes." he replied as he looked away with a guilty expression.

Is that what it took to make him see and admit things? Was Uchiha Sasuke so dense and always in denial?

"Sasuke-sama, nothing will come out of this." she replied sadly. Life was unfair and it always would be.

"No. We can make this work." he said almost pleadingly. He could not believe that he was actually saying this. He wanted to have a relationship with another man. What has happened to his mind?

She shook her head with a sad smile. It almost seemed like he knew that she was a female but that was not possible. He would have told her already and she would have been killed for her actions.

"Don't make this any harder!" he almost shouted. "Can't you see what you do to me? I am lost and I am confused. I have softened up so much because of you. I always had perfect control of my feelings and my actions. My feelings never made me do something unreasonable. But look at what I have become now. I am a complete wreck. You make me feel the strangest things yet they are the best things I have ever felt." he said as he looked her straight in the eyes.

This really seemed like a dream.

She wouldn't let him do unreasonable things. This would ruin his reputation and life. No matter how much she wanted to tell him the truth and try to make it work she knew it never would. She was not meant for him. Her place was in the sidelines. To watch over him and protect him. Nothing more.

"I-I do not feel the same." she lied.

A lump formed in her throat at the sight of his widened eyes that soon were averted in sadness.

"You're lying. I know you feel something." he shouted after he regained his composure.

"I-I admire and respect you. Nothing m-more." a sob almost escaped her.

His fists clenched at his helplessness. He knew the boy in front of him felt something. No matter how much Sasuke denied it he knew the boy was right. It wouldn't work out.

"Forgive me." Sakura whispered as she stumbled passed him.

He did not go after her.

It wouldn't change anything.

There really was nothing that he could do.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura stumbled into the room trying to hold in her tears. When had she become so weak that she could not keep her emotions in check? What he made her feel was wonderful but so painful at the same time.

Sakura plopped down onto her futon. Any strength she previously possessed left her.

The door was quietly slid open and solemn ember eyes met hers.

Tsunade walked over to her after she closed the door and sat down by her side.

"I know you have strong feelings for that brat but you shouldn't get your hopes up." Tsunade stated as she looked at Sakura.

"How did you know?" Sakura mumbled out.

"There aren't many things that would make you loose your composure. That brat means a lot to you so his actions have obviously wounded you in more than one way." Tsunade said as she put a blanket around Sakura's shoulders.

"Did I make a wrong choice?" Sakura mumbled more to herself.

Tsunade gave her a puzzled look.

"Was it wrong of me to want to be by his side? Did I make a wrong decision to train to become a soldier in the police force?" she asked as she glanced at Tsunade.

The woman sighed as she made herself more comfortable on the floor.

"Was that what your heart desired?" Tsunade asked with a soft smile.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"Well?" Tsunade prodded.

Sakura gave a small nod.

"Then it's not wrong. You became strong because of the wish to be close to him." Tsunade said.

Sakura nodded once again. She shouldn't dwell on this. She should just move on. What is done is done and there is no way to change anything.

She touched her lips with her fingers as she remembered Sasuke's soft lips on hers. She felt a pang in her chest but ignored it.

She would be by his side as nothing more than a soldier and a friend.

That was the only choice she had.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Weeks had passed without them interacting much with each other. Sakura had gone back to patrols and training after another week of recovering. Somehow the tension the felt between each other slowly disappeared with time and they started talking again. Two weeks after Sakura got back into the army it was announced that the engagement between Sasuke and Natsumi was broken off. She tried to ask Sasuke but she knew it was none of her business.

She heard hurried footsteps as she sipped her tea. They would soon have to leave for the night patrol. A panting soldier skidded to a stop before the open door and everyone in the dining room for the soldiers looked at him expectantly.

"A f-family was murdered. Your squad is to report to the scene." the man said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Haven't had one of those in a while." Naruto said as he stretched and headed to the door.

"Oooh, first crime scene." Suigetsu said excitedly as he was followed by a quiet Juugo.

She followed them out but couldn't help the unpleasant feeling in her stomach. Something wasn't right.

When they had reached the familiar gates Sakura was filled with dread. It couldn't be...that place. Could it?

She quickly followed Naruto and looked only at her feet. She shivered when her foot met the familiar steps to the deck. The strong stench of blood suddenly invaded her nose. Sasuke was already inside the house with some other soldiers.

"No one is in the house, Sasuke-sama." one of the soldiers said and Sasuke nodded.

"What happened here, teme?" Naruto asked with a serious expression.

"A family was murdered." he answered.

"Where?" Suigetsu asked as he started walking down the hallway.

"The end of the hallway." Sasuke replied before resuming his conversation and telling Naruto the details.

Sakura swallowed as she hesitantly followed Suigetsu. She cringed when the floor underneath her foot creaked. Her chest clenched in anticipation. She stared at Suigetsu's back as she quietly followed him. She refused to look into the rooms they passed. For some reason she was scared that her suspicions would be correct. She was definitely in denial.

Suigetsu's face cringed.

"That's something you don't see everyday." Suigetsu muttered as he covered his nose.

Sakura hesitantly stepped into the room.

The smell of blood and decomposing flesh hit her and made her nauseated. Her breath hitched slightly as she looked at the bodies. A boy's body lay near the wall. His head chopped off nearby. The blood was sprayed all over the wall. He looked only a few years older than Sakura.

Her eyes traveled to the female body laying near the door leading to the garden. Her neck was slit and blood pooled around her head. Sakura was glad the girl's face was not facing her. Sakura slowly headed towards the garden. Her legs wobbled slightly.

A female body lay near the steps leading down to the garden. She had a stab wound in her back. Sakura swallowed as she slowly moved her eyes to the male's body. A fat man in his early thirties lay near the koi pond. A knife lay a few meters from him. Sakura's body shook and a chill ran up her spine as she met his lifeless eyes. Even in death they were cruel.

She clamped her mouth to keep from vomiting. Her body felt weak and she leaned against the doorway. She didn't hear Suigetsu's concerned voice. She slowly slid down to the floor and looked away. Tears had gathered in her eyes. They were dead. The people that had made her life miserable were dead. The only other family she had left was dead.

She was almost happy that they were gone yet sad because she felt that this kind of death was too easy. They deserved more. Much more.

She felt disgusted by herself.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The atmosphere was heavy with tension.

Everyone knew that something was wrong with Tadashi but no one said anything. He had not said a word since he saw the bodies. Sasuke was bothered by it for some reason. Tadashi's eyebrows were slightly furrowed and his lips turned down, in what seemed to be, a disgusted frown.

Sasuke didn't know what had caused such a reaction from Tadashi. Tadashi had killed before and saw dead bodies but he never reacted the way he had today. There was something not right about this.

Sasuke's eyes strayed to the white-haired man who walked too close to Tadashi for his liking. Sasuke slightly glared at the man. Suigetsu felt someone burning a whole in the back of his head and turned to see who it was. He scowled once their eyes met and glared back. What was his problem?

Sasuke scowled when he remembered Tadashi wrapped in Suigetsu's arms when he entered the room. Tadashi's body had been still and it made Sasuke feel better since he had not responded to the man's embrace.

Did he really just get jealous of a man holding another man?

Something was really wrong with his head.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura left them right after they entered through the gates.

She needed to be alone and get herself together. She sat down on the porch in front of her room and started at the sunrise. She had been up all night and her eyelids felt heavy.

Her thoughts wondered back to the murder scene.

They were murdered just like her parents. They were punished. Wasn't it enough?

_*Flashback*_

Sakura held her cheek as she walked in the dark hallway.

That cowardly brat had slapped her again. It wasn't enough that his father was beating her and now the kids thought they should do the same. What an example.

She heard hushed whispers and raised her head to see a door slightly opened and faint light streaming into the hallway. No one would notice her if she was extremely quiet.

"Damn it! It has been a year and we still haven't found anything." the man growled.

Sakura cringed at the man's disgusting voice. She loathed it with her whole being. Well, she loathed the man in general.

"What? You said it would be easy to find! When am I going to get kimonos and accessories you promised?" the wife screeched.

"Hush! I didn't know the little bastard would hide it so well!" the man growled.

What were they talking about?

"Hn. Hiroshi always has been good at everything. He proved you wrong once again." the woman muttered.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Shut up!" the man growled.

The woman scowled at him as she got up from the pillow she was sitting on.

"I am going to bed." the woman said as she turned to leave.

"I did not hire an assassin for that much money just to not get anything in return. I will find the treasure of the Haruno clan and no one will stop me." he growled.

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

"Whatever you say." the woman glanced back at him and headed towards the doors.

Sakura quickly ran through the hallway until she reached a place where she slept. It couldn't be called a room.

Tears poured out of her eyes and she broke into sobs.

"Onee-chan?" a sleepy voice asked.

She looked at her little brother through blurred vision.

She dropped to his side and embraced him as she continued sobbing.

"I will protect you, no matter what." she said as she hiccuped.

_*Flashback End*_

Sakura wiped her eyes as tears started to escape.

How could they have done that?

He ordered for his brother to be killed for some kind of treasure.

How could someone be so heartless?

She took something out of the folds of her uniform and stared at it with blank eyes.

This was the reason her parents were dead. This cursed scroll.

She would have burned it if she didn't have a promise to keep.

They deserved more suffering.

She hoped the devil wasn't going easy on them.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Get out." he said through clenched teeth.

"Sasuke-kun, it was a mistake." Natsumi pleaded.

He sent her a glare and her eyes widened. He had never looked at her that way.

She dropped to her knees as he continued sipping his tea.

In reality he still had feelings for her no matter how much he denied it. He still cared about her even after she had done. Pretending to hate her was becoming harder with every day that went by. Seeing her pained expression made it even harder.

"Please, Sasuke-kun! Listen to me! I was jealous! I didn't like how much time you spent with that soldier! I wanted to get rid of him." she shouted as tears brimmed her eyes.

His face became confused.

"What are you talking about?" he asked not understanding who she was talking about.

"I was jealous of all the attention that pink-haired boy received from you!" she shouted.

Sasuke's eyes widened at her confession once he realized who she was talking about.

He didn't know what to tell her. He was at loss for words.

"Natsumi..." he whispered as he looked at her tear-stricken face.

She got up from her knees and rushed to his side after walking around the small table that was separating them from each other. She threw herself at him and broke into sobs. He hesitantly brought his arm around her.

"Sasuke-kun..." she sniffed as she hugged him tighter.

Was this the right thing to do?

Memories of maids gossiping around the mansion flooded back, some soldiers hinting at Natsumi's unfaithfulness, and even Itachi telling him the things he had witnessed her do.

His jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed. He forcefully pushed her off of him and she gave him a surprised look.

"This doesn't change the things you have done before." he said as he looked away.

"What things, Sasuke-kun?" she asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me! You know what you did better than anyone!" he shouted as he hit the table with his fist.

She recoiled from his outburst.

"Get out." he seethed.

"But Sasuke-kun..-" she mumbled.

"I said get out! And don't ever call me that way again!" he shouted as he swept his arm across the table and knocked off the tea pot with a pair of tea cups. The green liquid spilled all over the floor.

She hurried to the door and stopped as she slid the door open. She looked back at him and saw his face turned away. His eyes shut and a scowl on his face.

"I hate you!" she screamed as a sob escaped her and she ran out of the room.

His teeth clenched tighter at her words.

He hated himself too.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

She had a bad feeling.

She felt uneasiness in her chest. Maybe it was just her reaction to finding out that her uncle and his family were dead. It's been a few days though and she felt better.

She sighed as she looked at Yoshirou practicing his sword skills with Naruto. She hadn't told Yoshirou about their uncle and his family being killed. He didn't need to know. Not now at least.

There would be a big meeting at the compound tonight. Some important guest would be arriving. The maids have been cleaning the room that the meeting would be held in since morning. A dinner was also being prepared so it will most likely be a friendly meeting. She was sure the security would be on top tonight. However she wouldn't be guarding the meeting room like Naruto or Sai. She would be on patrol with the others. She was sure Sasuke-sama was going assign her as one of the guards. But it turned out that she was wrong.

Now that she thought about him, she remembered the maids gossiping as she had passed one of the rooms they were cleaning. Sasuke and Natsumi had an argument this morning. Though their engagement has been broken off they still somehow acted like a couple. It was strange really. Sometimes, Sakura felt guilty because she felt like she was the reason of the broken up engagement. If it wasn't for her they would probably still be madly in love. They could still be in love now. Feelings don't disappear in a second, after all. But at least Sasuke-sama would no longer be fooled by that woman.

She heard a thud and turned her attention back to the boys in front of her. Naruto had landed on his butt as Yoshirou pointed the sword at him.

"Heh, not bad, kid." Naruto said as he grinned up at the younger boy.

"Thanks." Yoshirou replied with a grin of his own as he stretched his hand out to help Naruto up.

Yoshirou looked at Sakura and waited patiently for her reaction. Naruto curiously looked between the two. Sakura observed her little brother for a few more seconds and a smile broke on her face.

"You have made a great improvement. Good job." she said as she saw his shoulders relax.

"Thanks, nee-cha-" he quickly shut his mouth as he realized his mistake. His eyes darted to his sister's as he awaited her reaction. She looked completely calm but that did not mean that he wouldn't get in trouble. Thankfully, Naruto hadn't noticed anything as he was too busy thinking about what kind of ramen to eat tonight.

"Ne, I'll go get ready for guarding shift." Naruto said as he smiled at Tadashi.

Sakura nodded her head. She got up from the porch and followed Naruto. She had to sharpen her sword before going to the patrol. Yoshirou wordlessly followed her. He was sure that she was mad at him since she hadn't said a word to him. When they reached the house for the soldiers Sakura finally stopped and turned around.

She stepped towards him and leaned a bit so their faces would be on the same level. He nervously met her eyes. His eyes widened when she gently ruffled his hair.

"Be more careful, next time." she said softly.

He nodded hesitantly.

"Go get cleaned up and get some rest." she said as she dropped her hand from his head.

"Hai!" he said as he smiled and turned to leave.

He stopped after taking a few steps. He turned around and ran towards her and embraced her. Sakura hugged him back as she smiled at his show of affection. He definitely had a sister complex but she thought it was the sweetest thing. He let go and ran towards the baths.

She pouted slightly as she realized that he was only a few inches shorter than her. Soon, he would be towering over her. But no matter how tall or how old he was he would always be her baby brother. She shook her head with a smile and headed to her room.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Her patrol team had left earlier then usual. She had stayed behind for some time to check on the guards of the room where the meeting would be held. They had the best soldiers surrounding the room from the inside of the compound and the outside. She couldn't help but worry. Her churned slightly.

She withdrew her head back after peaking from around the corner. She was sure Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to Sasuke or to anyone in the room. Sai was too devoted to his leaders. Neji had great respect towards the clan despite the rivalry between Sasuke and himself. The security seemed to be way too tight. This must be one very important guest.

Sakura was nearing the gates when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw one of the maid's that attended to Natsumi running towards her. She frowned slightly at the panicked look on the woman's face.

"Tadashi-san!" the woman gasped as she stopped to catch her breath.

"What is wrong, Fuyu-san?" Sakura questioned.

"Natsumi-sama! She has disappeared. We have been searching for her for nearly two hours." the woman said with worried eyes.

"Has Sasuke-sama been informed?" Sakura asked.

"No, he is attending the meeting." Fuyu replied.

"Alright, I'll send someone to inform the patrol team to search for her." Sakura said as she took a breath.

"Fuyu-san!" a young maid called as she ran up to the older woman.

"What is it? Have you found her?" the older woman asked hopefully.

"No, but I one of the other maids said that she saw her leaving through the gates. She said that Natsumi-sama went to the left once she exited the gates." the maid said.

Sakura frowned.

"Alright, don't panic. We'll find her." Sakura said as she turned and quickly headed towards the gates.

She asked one of the soldiers at the gate to find the patrol team and inform them about Natsumi.

As she left the gates she sprinted towards the patrolled side. What was that woman thinking! It was almost ten o'clock and she left the compound at this time. Plus, with the increased crime rate and a murderer on the loose anything could happen to her.

Foolish woman.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke scowled as he looked at the woman before him.

She chatted merrily with his mother. What the hell was she doing here?

Wasn't she supposed to be thrown into a cell for punching him? His jaw ached at the sight of her as a reminder.

"What is she doing here?" Sasuke questioned his father with a scowl. The chatter stopped and the blonde woman turned her attention to him.

"She is one of our guests, Sasuke." his father replied with an emphasis on his name.

"She punched me." he replied.

"Heh, you got what you deserved." she said.

He scowled at her response and shot her a glare.

"You're supposed to be rotting away in a cell." he said as he met her eyes.

His mother gasped and the room fell into complete silence.

He looked at the woman's impassive face and then her eyebrow twitched.

"Brat! I should have broken every bone in your body!" she bellowed as she got up to reach him over the table but was surprisingly restrained by his mother.

He smirked at her reaction.

"Sasuke! This is not a way to talk to a guest!" his mother scolded him as she tried to hold the raging woman down.

"Sasuke, show some respect." his father's stern reply came.

Sasuke huffed as he turned his head to the side. His brother chuckled beside him.

"Sasuke, she has been our family friend for years. We haven't seen her in a very long time. Plus, she is a legend." Itachi said and smirked once his brother gave him a questioning look.

"Haven't noticed anything spectacular about her." he commented as he observed her futile attempts at reaching over the table and beating him to a bloody pulp.

"She is the legendary healer who saved countless lives during the war twenty years ago." his brother said as he waited for his reaction.

Sasuke turned his head towards him and then his eyes slightly widened. He looked between her and his brother. Disbelief was written all over his face.

"Her...?" Sasuke questioned dumbly.

"Yes, she is the legendary Senju Tsunade." his brother stated with a smirk.

Tsunade huffed as she took a gulp of her green tea and sat it down on the table loudly as her eyes met Sasuke's.

"What the hell are you staring at, brat?" she questioned with a scowl.

"And here is her legendary temper." Itachi commented with a chuckle.

Unknowingly to everyone in the room Tsunade had heard their little conversation. She was renowned as a healer that cured illnesses that no one else could cure. She had saved thousands of lives during the war between the villages twenty years ago. But she also had a different identity that very few people knew about. She was also one of the three legendary samurais that defeated most of the enemies from other villages. Of course, no one knew of the her identity. Her face had always been covered by a mask during the type she had worn her samurai uniform. So the identity of the third samurai had remained a mystery to everyone.

She could never reveal her identity since she was a woman. Women were not allowed in the army. The only occupation they could get to help out is become a healer or a nurse at the hospitals. Tsunade did both. She knew her abilities and she knew that she could do much more then just help cure people.

She had gained all of her fighting skills from her grandfather when she was a little girl. He had been one of the greatest samurais in their clan. Even after his death her skills were secretly developed with the help of other clan members. Everyone in the clan was taught to stand up for themselves and become strong individuals. So the females of the Senju clan were always considered to be strongest out of all other women in the Fire country.

Her skills fighting abilities had developed further once she met Jiraiya, who was now her husband, and Orochimaru, a mutual friend who died a few years after the war. She had learned countless fighting techniques from both of them which had resulted in her developing her own fighting styles.

She was glad that she had someone to pass on her skills to. Sure, she had Shizune who was a very good student but Sakura was something else. She had such potential. She knew that this child was something extraordinary and she was right. Sakura caught up to all of the fighting and sword techniques she taught her as if it was in her blood. Almost like it was her second nature and she was meant for this. Who knew that the children of the Haruno clan had such potential. Harunos had always kept secrets though.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the shogi doors opened and a man in his early forties entered. The man had dark brown hair that seemed almost reddish and dark green eyes. His skin was slightly tanned. He was tall with a nice built body. She wondered if this was the guest they had been waiting for for the past hour.

"Ah, welcome Satoru-san. It's been a while since we last saw each other." Fugaku greeted.

"Yes, Uchiha-sama." the man replied with a smile.

Mikoto greeted him with a warm smile and urged him to sit down.

"Well, let me introduce our guest. This is Satoru Haruno." Fugaku said as he gestured towards the man.

Tsunade's cup almost slipped from her hands as her eyes widened in shock.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura cursed as she turned another corner.

That crazy woman! Was she trying to get herself killed?

She was now running through the Red District. Everyone was up and lively during this time of the night. She growled as she pushed some drunken men out of her way but of course they had to be sober enough or stupid enough to stop her.

One of the men had grabbed her arm.

"Hey! Watch where you're going." the man slurred as he wobbled on his unsteady feet.

Sakura turned her head and glared at his hand and then looked at the men.

"What a cutie. You want to join us and have fun?" the man next to the other one said as he winked at her. She could feel the man's eyes almost undressing her. She was a guy in these clothes. What was wrong with these men?

She slightly scrunched up her nose and tore her arm away. When the man tried to grab her she took out her katana and pointed it right at his fat nose. She didn't have time for this. She knew she was going overboard but she could not risk losing any time.

"Get lost." she said as she gave a glare.

The man stuttered and fell on his butt as his already wobbly legs gave way from fear.

'_Disgusting pigs.'_

She turned away and continued her search for Natsume.

Where could that woman have possibly gone? Sakura hoped that she wouldn't get herself in any trouble. If she did, Sakura would most likely hold herself accountable even thought it wouldn't be her fault.

After she exited the Red District she searched two more streets until she came to a stop. She heard sobbing noises in the darkened street. She listened carefully and headed in the direction of the sound. She breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the sobbing woman.

The moon was high up in the sky and illuminated her figure which was hunched up on the porch of a closed shop. The dimly lit lanterns dangled lightly from the warm night air. It was probably getting close to midnight. She jogged towards the woman. Her caring nature kicking in to see if she was alright.

Thankfully, she wasn't physically hurt but she knew that the Natsume had exhausted her body from all the crying. She was most likely hurt psychologically. Sakura's anger and frustrations sipped through as she grabbed the woman by the shoulders. Natsume screamed from the sudden contact and looked up into angry green eyes.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed!" Sakura shouted as she shook her by the shoulders.

Natsume looked at her with shocked blue eyes. Tears still rolling down her flushed cheeks. The expression of shock turned into anger as she slapped her hands away.

"Don't touch me!" she almost screeched.

"Why did you leave? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is on the streets at this time of the night?" Sakura almost shouted.

"I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore." she said as she tried to look angry but the sadness in her eyes betrayed her.

Sakura grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her to her feet as she muttered 'foolish woman'.

Natsume stumbled at the sudden pull and followed Sakura as she dragged her by her hand.

Natsume yelped when Sakura yanked her to the side as something wheezed past her and cut off some of her hair.

Sakura whirled around and quickly deflected a few senbons with the handle of her katana while moving Natsume behind herself. Sakura scanned the roofs with slightly narrowed eyes until a figure came into view and effortlessly jumped to the ground.

"My my, it seems my aim is off tonight." the figure spoke as he walked in the shadows of the buildings.

"What do you want?" Sakura questioned as she positioned her sword to deflect any other senbons that could be thrown at her.

"The girl. You can leave while you have time but that wouldn't be fun. I'll just finish the girl off and then I'll get to you." the person said.

Natsume whimpered slightly.

"Who are you? Why do you need her?" Sakura questioned while she thought of ways for Natsume to escape safely.

"You ask too many questions." the man said as he finally stepped into the moonlight.

He was tall in stature and wore a dark cloak. She could see a handle of a katana peeking out of the folds of the cloak. He had shaggy hair that looked to be brown in the moonlight and his eyes glinted even though it was dark.

Sakura could feel Natsume trembling behind her.

"Once I tell you to run do so. Run as fast as you can and don't look back." Sakura mumbled as she carefully watched the man.

"You won't have a chance." the man said and lunged towards the pair. Natsume screamed as the two blades clashed. The man's movements were too quick for Natsume to catch but she knew that he was not a joke. She had met enough assassins trying to kill her to know at least that.

Sakura seemed to block every movement with ease. Her face was concentrated and there wasn't a single hint of emotion on her face except her eyes burning with intensity. Seeing that their sword play wasn't going anywhere the man jumped back and sent senbons and shurikens flying in her direction. She deflected them quickly but another bunch was heading her way.

The man suddenly disappeared and slight panic started rising in her. She felt the change in the air and knew that he was coming from the back in order to kill Natsume. She appeared in front of Natsume just as the blade was heading for Natsume's chest. Even though she blocked it the blade went slightly above her shoulder and grazed the top part of it. The sliced hole in the uniform turned a dark red and kept spreading through the fabric signaling that it wasn't just a scratch.

Sakura pushed away the sword with her own and lunged for an attack. This deflecting strategy would lead them nowhere.

"Ah, this is taking much longer than I expected." the man muttered as if it was a simple daily task. For him, it most likely was so.

He easily deflected her attacks an fruitlessly tried to get a hit on her.

She smiled slightly when she grazed his side with her sword.

He suddenly jumped back and hundreds of senbons were sent her way. She cursed when Natsume screamed. She glanced at her and noticed cuts on her arms and cheek. She hoped they weren't poisoned. She lunged at him head on and once he deflected her sword she kicked him in the side. He grunted and disappeared.

She ran back to Natsume's side and checked if the senbons had hit any vital places. He hadn't left but she had to make sure that Natsume was alright.

She was kicked in her side and felt the air leave her lungs. It took her a few seconds to get back to her feet. He was about to slice Natsume's throat when Sakura threw a kunai which momentarily deflected the sword. She had enough time to get back in front of Natsume before thin ropes wrapped around her body with kunais attached to them. She gritted her teeth as the ropes started to slice through her uniform.

"Tadashi!" Natsume yelled as she was slowly being dragged towards the man. She struggled and dug her feet into the ground as much as she could. Her arms were completely useless. The rope was wrapped too tightly around her body.

He tugged once more and now she was face to face with him though he towered over her. She could feel irritation and something sinister radiation off of him. Despite his irritation he seemed to be amused by her struggles to release her arms from the rope. It only deepened the gashes that had started to appear from the thin rope digging into her skin.

"Struggle as much as you want but you won't get anywhere." he said with a slight smirk.

She met his eyes with a glare and scowled at his expressions. He cocked his head to the side questioningly. His face looked almost childish at that moment. The slight widening of his eyes went almost unnoticed by her.

She looked at him incredulously once he burst out laughing which made her cringe.

"Oh my, this is an interesting turn of events. I would have never recognized you if you hadn't given me that look." he said as he smiled sinisterly.

The confusion was evident on her face.

"You wound me, child. Don't you recognize me?" he said mockingly.

She stared at him defiantly.

He grabbed her chin in a painful grip and moved his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her face. What he said next rang in the night's silence loud and clear.

"I am the one who killed your family, my dear Sakura-chan. Including that revolting uncle of yours." he said as his eyes examined her reaction with amusement.

She was sure her heart had stopped along with her breathing. She stood completely frozen in place as she stared at him with wide eyes.

What?

This was the man that took everything away from her. The one who was responsible for all of her and Yoshirou's sufferings. It was all his fault.

She lowered her head and the bangs covered her face. Her shoulders shook.

"You aren't going to cry now, are you Sakura-chan?" he asked mockingly.

She lifted her face and he was taken aback by the expression on her face. Her eyes were slightly brimmed with tears. Her bright green eyes were now a dark jade filled with hatred and rage. Her lips twisted in a snarl. Her eyebrows knitted together in anger and she lifted her foot and kicked him between the legs as hard as she could. He doubled over in pain and she took the chance to release her arms from the bruising ropes.

She quickly grabbed her sword that was laying a few meters away. When she turned he was already getting up. He looked at her with a pissed off expression.

"Bitch." he growled as the dashed towards each other once again.

Each of her hits was filled and controlled by pure anger. It radiated off of her in thick waves. She knew it was not right to be lead by emotions but she could care less. The monster that killed her family here and now and she would do anything to kill him tonight.

"Feisty aren't we?" he said but winced when her sword sliced through his shoulder.

Adrenaline was pumping through her veins as she landed a hit after hit on him. He struggled to deflect her blows but did not miss the chance to land a few hits on her. Her sword went past his head and cut off a few hairs.

"Such a nuisance. Should have finished you off with the rest of your weak family." he said as he pushed her back with his sword against hers.

"Why did you kill them?" she growled out as she tried to kick him and he dodged.

"I was being paid well to dispose of them." he replied.

Of course. She didn't know why she had asked him that question but it just left her lips. She had put the pieces together once he admitted to being the murderer of her family. Her uncle had hired him and was now ironically killed by this man. She did not know the reason behind his death and she did not care. He got what he deserved.

He kicked her in the stomach as he cut her shoulder. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. He tried to stab her as she rolled away from the hit and kicked him in the sheen.

Meanwhile, Natsume watched with horror filled eyes as she processed what was happening and what has been revealed. Tadashi was a girl and he was fighting this assassin. Why was she in the police force? Where had she learned how to fight? Hundreds of questions ran through her mind. She heard a thud and a painful intake of breath and reverted her attention back to the fight.

Sakura was lying on the ground a few meters away from her. Her small form was beat up and covered in cuts a blood stains. The man hovered over her with his foot on her chest. Sakura struggled to breathe and knew that her ribs were broken. The man wasn't in best shape either. The had multiple gashes on his body and his cloak had been discarded when it got in the way. Blood ran down his leg and formed a small pool of blood.

He raised his sword with a wicked smile.

"I am Sasori by the way. Say hi to your family." he said as he moved his leg off of her chest and started bringing down the sword.

She could't move. Her arm was broken and she had trouble breathing. She looked at his crazed expression as she registered his words and helplessly waited for the sword to pierce her chest.

This bastard was sick.

"No!" Natsume yelled.

His sword stopped and inch away from her chest as he looked up at the girl. His smiled with a glint in his eyes and looked at the shaking girl.

"Why don't I let you watch her die before I send you off?" he said as he looked at her for a few seconds and dug his heel into her stomach. She gasped and let out a painful yell.

He slowly walked towards Natsume. The sword swinging in his hand as he walked. Natsume trembled in fear and stood frozen. Sakura turned her body with great effort as she watched him get closer to Natsume. She couldn't let her die. Sasuke would never forgive her if anything ever happened to her. She knew he still cared for her even though he claimed to hate her. She whimpered as her broken ribs protested to her movements as she lifted herself up.

Natsume fell back as her knees gave out from fear as he stopped in front of her. He was too preoccupied to notice Sakura stagger behind him but in the last second he deflected her hit from the back. She lost her grip on her sword and it landed a few meters away when he deflected it. He grabbed her by the throat and squeezed it hard. She gasped for air as she was lifted off the ground. She clawed at his arm.

The next thing she knew she was dropped to the ground and Natsume's scream filled her ears. She looked up and saw her on the man's back as she scratched his face. He finally shrugged her off and dropped her to the ground. He had enough of these stubborn females. He swiftly brought his sword towards her but it hit another.

Sakura stood before him with the sword pierced through her chest. Blood trickled down the side of her mouth as she gasped for air. Both his and Natsume's eyes stared at her in shock.

"W-Why would you p-protect me? A-After a-all I have done t-to you?" Natsume asked with sobs wracking her body as she watched Sakura's back shake with every breath she tried to take.

Sakura turned her head back and smiled weakly as she looked at her.

"B-Because you m-mean e-everything to S-Sasuke-s-sama and I w-will protect e-everything d-dear t-to h-him." she said as tears streamed down her face.

Natsume let out another sob as she watched the sword pierce even further through her back.

"R-Run." Sakura said weakly.

"B-But-"

"Run!" Sakura said louder as she gripped Sasori's hand when he tried to take out the sword.

Natsume struggled to get up but once she was up she ran. She staggered and looked back as she got further and further away from the two. She had to get back to the compound and get help.

"Stupid girl." Sasori said and she turned her head towards him.

He pushed the sword further through her chest and she gritted her teeth.

"I-If you think t-that y-you are going to l-live through this, y-you're wrong." she said as she gasped and plunged as short sword through his chest. Blood splattered on both of them as his eyes went wide.

When had she?

"T-This is for m-my p-parents." she whispered as she pushed the sword completely through him. His heart would stop beating soon. His grip on the sword loosened as he fell back with a loud thud. His eyes stared at the sky and soon glazed over and became dull.

Sakura coughed up blood and dropped to he knees. She gripped the handle of the sword and yanked it out with a scream. Blood poured out faster out of the wound as she tore of her sleeve. She wrapped it tightly around her chest. She shakily got up and walked over to her sword. It felt so much heavier in her shaky and tired hands. She put it back in it's holster and staggered over to Sasori.

She leaned down and grabbed the back of his collar and turned to walk back to the direction of the compound. She would not let anyone else have this bastard. Plus, she was sure he was one of the many murders that had been occurring lately.

She dragged his heavy body behind her as she tried to support her body along the walls of the buildings. The red district had less people now and only a few drunk men staggered through the street with their female companies of the night.

Her breathing had become more labored and the wound was bleeding more. She tore off another sleeve and tied it over the other sleeve around her chest and then continued to stagger. Her vision was slowly becoming cloudy and she would see black dots from time to time but she wouldn't give up. She wouldn't die until she reached the compound.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

They had been chatting as they drank saki for the past hour or two. Everyone's cheeks were flushed and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. The moon was high up in the sky and illuminated the garden to which the room they currently occupied led. The doors were slid open and they could see the cherry blossom petals travel through the light night wind.

Their fun evening had turned to a nightmare when the door of the fence banged open and a disheveled Natsume leaned on the side of the fence covered in cuts. She struggled to breathe as her eyes searched for anyone.

Sasuke was immediately overcome with worry and the bad feeling he experienced for the past hour or so intensified tenfold. Mikoto had gasped and brought her hand to her mouth as her younger son rushed towards Natsume. Tsunade and the others immediately followed him. Their effect of the alcohol seemed to disappear.

Sasuke wrapped an arm around her and took her hand as he led her towards the porch of the house. She tried to say something but couldn't regain her breathing. He was filled with panic as he looked at the blood covering her clothes and asked what had happened to her.

When she regained her breathing she incoherently mumbled words as tears streamed down her cheeks and her eyes seemed to be wild.

"She is in shock." Tsunade said as she examined her.

"Natsume, what happened?" Sasuke questioned with worry.

"I...T-Tadashi...no...s-she...we...were attacked...and s-she..fought h-him. S-She p-protected m-me..." she sobbed harder after she finished her second sentence.

"Who?" Sasuke questioned with confusion.

"S-Sa-she stopped once her once her eyes landed on the entrance. Everyone followed her gaze. Gasps of shock were heard as everyone's eyes widened.

Sakura stood covered in blood. Her eyes dull and her hair loose and disheveled. Her chest was covered in blood and scratches littered her arms. There was a thud as she dropped Sasori's collar and his head hit the ground.

She registered Sasuke's shocked face and Tsunade's panicked yells.

She swayed and stumbled forward as she felt all her strength leave her as her vision turned completely black.

'_Forgive me, Yoshirou-kun.'_

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Yeees! I am finally done with this chapter! It took me so long to finish it! I am really really really sorry for such a long wait. I had to prepare for tests and exams and then the SAT and I have had so much homework. Ugh. But I spent the last few hours to try and finish it up. This is a super long chapter which is 23 pages long. I worked really hard on this chapter so I hope this makes up for the long wait. I know it's long but all these events HAD to be included in this chapter! Excuse me for the descriptions of the fighting scenes as you can see I suck at them. I am truly sorry to leave you with this cliff hanger because I know that I won't be able to update for another few weeks so please be patient. **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! **

**IMPORTANT!**

**Have you heard of Joseph Kony? A man in Africa who has been kidnapping children and making them into soldiers. Please go to the site listed below and watch the video. Please spread the word about this to everyone. Thank you! **

**www (dot) kony2012 (dot) com**


	11. Chapter 11

As Sakura fell it looked like it was in slow motion. Everyone was overcome with shock and some panicked.

"T-Tadashi!" Tsunade yelled as she regained her senses and ran towards Sakura to catch her just before she hit the ground.

The strong stench of blood invaded her nose as she became aware of Sakura's body being colder than it should be. Full blown panic settled in her mind as adrenaline rushed through her. She had to do something.

Sasuke appeared by her side and wordlessly lifted Sakura up. His eyes were wide and he was still in shock. Panic had settled in his eyes and he looked at her as if he was lost.

"Someone get a doctor!" Sasuke shouted after coming slightly out of shock.

"No, I will take care of him." Tsunade said.

"What the hell are you talking about, woman? What can you do?" he shouted angrily.

"Watch your mouth, brat. I can do much more than any other doctor here. This is no time to argue." she replied sternly with a spike of anger in her eyes.

He growled in response but followed her commands to put Tadashi on the floor of the room.

Mikoto was comforting Natsume as Fugaku stood with the guest. Itachi was standing near the dead body as a few soldiers entered through the back door in a rush.

Sasuke gently put Sakura on the floor. As he withdrew his hands he noticed that he was shaking.

Tsunade put her hand in front of Sakura's nose to see how she was breathing and checked for her pulse. Her breathing was erratic and very weak. She didn't have a lot of time left.

"Sasuke, get some servants to bring hot water, towels, and a futon." she ordered in an authoritative voice.

Sasuke was reluctant to leave Tadashi's side but complied when he saw the look on Tsunade's face. She knew what she was doing.

"Mikoto, close the doors and please take everyone out." Tsunade said. Mikoto looked at her worriedly and then glanced at the young man covered in blood. She nodded as she slowly slid the doors shut.

The guest looked through the closing doors and saw the young man on the floor. Since the room was filled with light and wasn't dark like the garden he could now clearly see the boy's features. His eyes widened and he gasped in shock.

"It can't be..." he trailed off as Mikoto ushered them out of the back doors of the garden. He complied hesitantly as his mind raced for a logical explanation.

Meanwhile, Tsunade was loosening the material Sakura had used as a bandage. The child must have gone trough hell by the looks of the injuries. When she completely unwrapped everything and opened the folds of the uniform her eyes widened and her eyebrows came into a frown.

The blood was freely escaping from the wound. It was most likely a sword wound by the looks of it and it had pierced right through her body. Blood was slowly seeping out of the wound in Sakura's back and was gathering around her. Her breaths were shallow and labored. Sweat covered her body.

Tsunade suddenly felt as if she went back in time. It felt similar to the time when she found Sakura covered in blood and shivering in the snow with barely anything covering her body. But this time it was worse. So much worse. Tsunade pressed the bloodied cloth to the wound to lessen the bleeding.

A few maids entered in a hurry followed by Sasuke. They quickly set everything down and followed Tsunade's orders. Tsunade had taken the sake from the table to clean up the wound. She noted the gasp that escaped from Sasuke once he saw the severity of the wound.

"Will he survive?" he asked in a slightly shaky voice.

"I don't know." Tsunade replied as she finished cleaning the wound. She ordered the maids to bring a few more items while she placed Sakura on one of the towels.

"You should leave." she said dryly.

"No." Sasuke immediately replied.

"Kid, this is not the time to be a brat. Leave." she said as she looked up at him.

"I won't leave him." he said. His voice laced with anger that was slowly accumulating.

Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Sakura's pale face. Was there any use in hiding Sakura's identity anymore? Had Sasuke already noticed the small hints of being a female that Sakura tried to hide so hard? As if Sasuke had read her thoughts his eyes landed on Sakura's face.

He examined her bloodied hair sprawled around her head. The long black eyelashes that adorned her closed eyes. His eyes traveled down to land on the wound once again. That's when he finally noticed the bandages wrapped around her chest. His eyes filled with confusion. He watched as Tadashi's chest slowly rose with each labored breath. He noticed that there was a roundness to his chest.

His eyes widened in shock as the realization hit him.

"Finally realized it, huh?" Tsunade muttered as she looked at his expression for a second until she went back to examining the wound.

"H-He...is a w-woman...?" he whispered in disbelief and flopped down on the floor as he stared with wide eyes at Sakura's face.

A maid came running as a local doctor followed her. He took out the items that Tsunade asked for. The doctor disinfected the needle and put a thread through it and handed it to Tsunade. He lit up a candle and Tsunade put the needle into the small flickering light.

"Leave." she said. Clearly directing the command towards Sasuke. He didn't reply as he dazedly stumbled out into the hall and leaned against the wall opposite of the room. The maid slid the door shut.

Tsunade turned Sakura gently on her side and asked a maid to hold the towel to the wound on her chest. Tsunade expertly cut the bindings and threw them to the side. Swiftly but thoroughly cleaning the wound in the back and inserting the needle through the skin to close up the wound.

Thankfully the sword didn't seem to go through any vital organs. It had torn some muscle tissue. She needed to quickly close up the wound before Sakura bled to death. When she finished closing up the wound in Sakura's back she worked on the wound on her chest as quick as she could. Once she was done she tore up some sheets that the maids had brought and tightly tied them up around Sakura's ribs. She hoped the ribs weren't fractured too much and would heal up on their own.

She wrapped a bandage around the wound and noticed that Sakura's breathing had gotten only slightly better. She furrowed her eyebrows and her eyes wondered to Sakura's uniform which was lowered to her stomach. Her eyes widened once she saw a purple liquid staining some parts of the uniform. Poison.

She touched the poison soaked into the fabric. Some parts of the fabric wasn't completely dried so she pressed on it to get some of it on her finger. She brought her hand to her lips and carefully tested it. The poison seemed familiar. She quickly shouted out ingredients that the doctor needed to bring and he complied as he rushed out of the room. As he exited the room in a hurry and left the door open Tsunade glanced up into the hall way.

Sasuke sat on the floor with his eyes wide still in shock, his shoulders slumped as if all energy had left him. He slowly looked up at her and then looked down at the girl beside her. Never in his life would he have thought that Tadashi could be a woman. He must not have paid enough attention. It seemed obvious now but he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary before.

Another realization hit him. Tadashi was a woman. That meant that he could have. Even though she didn't fit the social status of the marriage partner that his clan required he could have her. He didn't care about the rules and the norms. But the most important thing right now was for her to survive.

More panic filled him and fear seeped in his core. Fear that he would lose her when he knew he could have her. He felt helpless as he stared at her pale form. Her eyes clenched shut as she struggled to breathe. Dread filled his body even more since she didn't look too well. She seemed to look much worse.

The doctor was soon back in the room with everything Tsunade had requested. Some herbs and hot water. She started on the antidote immediately. She hoped it was the exact poison she had encountered before and that it didn't have any ingredients that wouldn't be canceled out by the antidote.

When she finished she hurriedly lifted Sakura's head and poured the antidote into Sakura's mouth. She seemed to be unable to swallow and Tsunade cursed as most of the liquid spilled out of her mouth. She brought the cup to her own mouth in order to give it by mouth.

"I will do it." Sasuke said as he stood in front of her.

"You're the heir to the Uchiha clan." She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"It doesn't matter. I want to be of help to her. I hate sitting and watching and not being able to help the person I love." he said as he grabbed the cup from her hold and took a sip.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock at his words and she watched he sit down on the floor and lean over her student. He gently turned Sakura's head towards him and brought his lips to hers. He took another sip and proceeded to give it to Sakura by mouth. He looked at Tsunade with worried eyes as his hand lingered on Sakura's face and he noticed just how cold she gathered her in his arms and placed her on the futon that the maids had brought in. He swept the bloodied hair from her face.

He took a hold of her hand and squeezed gently and prayed to any God out there for her to survive. He took her hand with both hands and kissed her hand. He brought it to his chest and held it close to his heart. He couldn't do anything to save her and it frustrated him so much. All he could do was wait.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

He thanked all the Gods out there when Tsunade informed him that Sakura would live. It has already been three days and he refused to leave her side. He sat near her and held her hand.

Councel members had burst into the room in outrage when they had learned that Tadashi was a woman by the rumors spread by the maids. They yelled for her to be executed for breaking the rules and doing the unthinkable. They were shoved out of the room by Sasuke and restrained by his best soldiers. Itachi was taking care of the matters while Sasuke took care of Sakura.

Sasuke watched as Tsunade applied some ointment to the wound on Sakura's back. His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes scanned the scars that littered her back and he was once again filled with guilt for causing her pain.

"What is her name?" he suddenly questioned. It has been bugging him for days.

"I don't think it is my place to reveal that. She will tell you once she wakes up." Tsunade replied as she covered Sakura with a blanket and placed a wet towel on her forehead in order to reduce the fever. It was a reaction she had as her body fought against the poison and worked to stabilize itself.

Sasuke sighed in frustration.

"Get some rest, kid. You look like an old man." Tsunade said as she left the room.

She sighed once she slid the door shut and leaned against the wall. He wanted to know her name, huh? Her mind trailed back to the event that occurred days ago. Something that she did not expect would happen.

_Flashback_

"_Haruno?" Tsunade questioned with wide eyes._

"_Yes." Satoru replied as he observed Tsunade's shocked expression._

"_What's wrong, Tsunade?" Mikoto asked worriedly._

"_It's nothing." Tsunade said as she met the eyes of the guest._

"_Haruno-san, you said you had some kind of business." Fukagu said as he looked at Satoru._

"_Yes, my clan's leader received a letter a few weeks ago stating that his son and his family were murdered." he replied._

_Mikoto gasped in shock as she covered her mouth._

"_Haruno? Hmm. Sasuke, weren't you on a case whose family's name was Haruno?" Itachi questioned._

_Sasuke pondered for a while trying to remember the said case. He nodded in agreement a few seconds later._

"_Great. Could you then take me to their residence?" Satoru questioned hopefully._

"_Of course. We are sorry for your loss, Haruno-san." Itachi said. _

_Satoru nodded and then a troubled look crossed his face._

"_What strange is that we haven't received a word from our leader's oldest son. His letters stopped coming at the same time Jiro-san's did." he wondered out loud. _

**AN: Okay, this is so embarrassing but I cannot remember the name of Sakura's uncle for the life of me. I am not sure if I even gave him one. I tried going back in chapters but my search was fruitless so he will be referred to as Jiro from now on.**

"_There is another Haruno residing here?" Fugaku questioned._

"_Yes. He has a wife and two children. The oldest should be around eighteen now." Satoru replied._

"_We will look into the archives, Haruno-san." Itachi replied._

"_Thank you, for your help." Satoru replied with a small smile._

_A slight panic had settled in Tsunade throughout the conversation. This person was one of Sakura's relatives. How would she react to these news? It seemed to be good news but she never knew what reaction her student would have._

_She sighed and took a gulp of sake. She could only hope for the best._

_Flashback End_

"Tsunade-sama?" came a quite voice.

The called woman snapped out of her reverie and turned her attention towards the boy in the hallway.

"Hello, Yoshirou." she said with a sad smile.

He silently walked towards her and stopped near the shogi doors.

"How is she?" he asked. Hope was laced in his voice as he looked at her with pleading eyes to hear good news.

"She is doing better. There is a slight amount of poison in her system but her body is fighting it pretty well." she replied noticing the boy's appearance. His hair was unbrushed and his clothing rumpled. Dark circles were evident under his tired and dull eyes.

He silently nodded and stared at the floor. She hated seeing him like this. He was like a son to her just like Sakura was a daughter she never had. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed as she petted his head.

"She will be alright, Yoshirou." she whispered.

The boy nodded as a quiet sob escaped him.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Satoru entered the house and slowly walked down the hallway. Itachi and a few soldiers followed after him silently. He entered each room and observed each one trying to find any clues that allowed him to confirm that this was Jiro's house.

Once he entered a bedroom furnished with expensive looking furniture he asked to be left alone. If this was Jiro's house then he had all the rights to look through his things since he was sent by the leader.

He walked over to the desk placed in the far left side of the room. Many papers littered the desk. He looked over them recognizing Jiro's signature on a few of them. He went through the drawers not finding anything interesting until a thick scroll caught his eye. He slowly unraveled it and his eyes skimmed through the content. This was the will of the main heir of the clan. The clan head's oldest son. What would his will be doing at Jiro's house? There was also a list of properties and valuables that he owned. As he proceeded to look through many other scroll's scattered in the drawers he found a document stating that Jiro was the owner of the library in Konoha and his brother's house. The library had clearly belonged to the Hiroshi. He had written so in the letters they had received. What was the house doing under Jiro's name? How had it become his property?

Satoru shook his head with a sigh. So many thoughts and questions running through his mind. Somethind didn't seem right and he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. He gathered all the significant papers from the table and left the room to inspect the other rooms of the house. The many unanswered questions would have to wait for now.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura groaned at the stiffness of her neck and back. Her whole body was on fire and the place she was in seemed too hot and air deprived. When she made a move to stretch her arms a searing pain shot through her chest and she whimpered in pain. Tears suddenly gathering at the corners of her eyes. She opened her eyes and was thankful that the room wasn't too bright but the rays from the setting sun still caused her eyes some discomfort. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light of the room she examined her surroundings. There was a basing next to her head and few bloodied rags surrounded it. She then became aware of the coolness on her forehead and touched the rag with a wince. She made a move to get up but the door suddenly slid open. Her eyes widened at the sight of Sasuke and the next thing she knew his arms had wrapped around her in a gentle embrace.

"S-Sasuke-sama..." she was confused at his sudden physical contact but everything seemed to rush back at that moment, reminding her of the encounter with her family's murderer. She suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous.

Sasuke carefully let go of her, mindful of her injuries and cupped her face with his right hand. Worry and relief was etched onto his face as he examined her face. Sakura looked at him with confusion but then realized the possible inconveniences she might have caused. After all, the Uchihas had been at a very important meeting.

"Sasuke-sama, I am-" he hushed her.

"There is no need to apologize for anything. I am just glad that you survived." he said as he stroked her hair. She then came to realize that he wasn't treating her like he should have. She is supposed to be a soldier after all.

She jerks her head away from his touch since swatting her superiors hand away is unthinkable. She cries out in pain once again since the stitches of the wound are not completely healed. Sasuke is startled and grabs her by her shoulders. She looks at him at that moment and he shakes his head.

"There is no need to suppress anything anymore." he says and inspects her face for any indications of understanding. She turns her head away from him and focuses on the doors leading to the garden.

"I know your secret." he almost whispers. Her head snaps back at that and she looks at him with panic filled eyes. Praying that it isn't the secret she is thinking about.

He gently cups her face between his hands and gently reveals her secret. "I know that you are a woman."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Satoru enters through the gates of the Uchiha Compound still unsettled by what he had found today. The other rooms of the house hadn't contained anything significant and he was worried of the whereabouts of the clan's most treasured possessions. He hoped that Hiroshi was well and protecting it just like he had promised.

Satoru raised his head as he heard footsteps approaching. He was surprised to see Itachi Uchiha still up at this hour and heading towards him with an unsettled expression.

"Is something wrong, Itachi-san?" Satoru questions and his eyes land on the scroll in Itachi's hand.

"I am afraid so. I looked at archives of all the Haruno's that have lived in Konoha." Itachi said with a grim expression.

"Well?" Satoru urged him.

"Hiroshi and Ayame Haruno are deceased. Their kids have disappeared without a trace and are labeled dead." Itachi said with sympathy.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**Yes, I know this chapter is of a regular length and I have not updated for a very long time. But I had quite a few exams so please excuse my lack of updating. When it comes to writing it takes some time for me. Thank you for your support and understanding. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated! =^_^=**


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura stares at him with slightly widened eyes. She doesn't exactly know what she should feel. Should she feel relieved? Should she be scared? But the only thing she feels is anger gradually rising within her. Since she is now a woman in Sasuke's eyes, would she now be treated better than she had when she was a man? Despite her strong love for him she is still hurt by what he has done? A few words from that woman's mouth made him go berserk and whip her senselessly. Of course, she was a mere soldier but to believe so easily and without anything to back up her guilt with.

As she looks at his eyes she doesn't understand who this man is? His actions crushed the man she had so deeply admired, but she cannot deny that she loves him just as much if not more. Tears well up in her eyes and she hates that she is crying in front of him. In front of this confusing man whom has hurt her. She hiccups and he gently embraces her. How could this man make her so weak? Whenever she is near him all of the emotions are just ready to burst out of her.

She doesn't know what her place is anymore. Of course, she is still a soldier but what is she to him now that he knows her true identity. Is he disgusted with her for doing such unthinkable thing as dressing as a man and being accepted into the ranks of his soldiers or is he glad that he can express his emotions, if there are any, towards her?

Her salty tears make the deeper cuts on her face sting and the biggest wound on her body makes her moan in pain as it stretches and burns when she moves. Sasuke abruptly let's her go and looks at her pained expression. She gently puts her hand on the now opened up wound and watches the blood slowly stain the bandages. Sasuke doesn't utter a word but grabs a few spare bandages laying around the basin with water.

"What is going to happen now?" she questions and is surprised that her voice doesn't tremble.

She notices a change in his composure and within a second his face is back to an emotionless façade. Her mind is once again in a mess and spiting out hundreds of emotions and questions that she cannot decipher. How can he change from a gentle and caring man to an emotionless human being. Maybe it is just her mind playing tricks on her, her body has after all taken quite a beating so she wouldn't be surprised if she had hit her head somewhere along the way.

His eyes once again become soft and he let's out a sigh.

"I don't know." He answers.

Sakura doesn't respond and looks out the opened shogi doors leading to the garden.

"I am sorry." He murmurs and gently clasps her hand.

Sakura looks at him with widened eyes, startled by his action and his words. She is confused about his apology but doesn't ask since all she can think about is the warmth of his calloused hand.

"What for?" she finally whispers as she observes their clasped hands.

"For hurting you, for confusing you, for letting this happen to you." He murmurs as his eyes move from her face to the bleeding wound.

Sakura realizes that she has never felt like a girl. No. A woman. No matter how many beautiful dresses she had tried in Tsunade's house, how much Shizune had gushed over her hair or her beauty, no matter how many times the young men whispered about her beauty even though she was dressed as a boy.

Right now, in one of the weakest states she has been in years since Tsunade took her in and in a bloody mess in front of such a beautiful being she. His soft apology, gentle hand, and onyx eyes sparkling with sincerity make her feel like a woman. She is not a warrior, a soldier, or a teen seeking vengeance for her family anymore. This is the first time a man has treated her so kindly and gently.

"It was my duty." She answers as she comes back to reality from her thoughts.

"No, it wasn't. You did not have to risk your life for her." he replies with a slight agitation.

"I did. She is your important someone. I have to protect and keep safe what is important and dear to you." Sakura replies and her eyes glisten with tears.

"Can you keep yourself safe then? Because you are dear to me." She whispers as he cups her cheek.

A part of her is infuriated that he is saying such things. He has another woman that he is in love with and now he is saying these kinds of things to her? But another part of her that is so in love with him does not care about Natsume. For once in her life she wanted to be selfish and not care about others or their feelings.

She put her hand over his and a tear slid down her cheek.

"Hai."

o.o.o.o.o.o

Satoru sat in his room staring at the papers Itachi had given him. He still could not get over the news. How could this happen? How could no one have informed the Haruno Clan. Years have passed since their deaths, Kami-sama. The heirs to clan have also vanished. An image of a giggling pink-haired girl with twinkling emerald eyes and a brown-haired boy with aqua green eyes passed through his head.

He covered his eyes with his hand as he looked up into the ceiling.

"What should I do?" he asked himself as a tear rolled down his cheek.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade had just finished applying ointment and changing the bandages when Yoshirou shoved the doors open and burst into the room. His hairy was messy and his eyes were wide open as he panted. Once he laid his eyes on Sakura bolted towards her embraced her in a hug.

Sakura hissed in pain once he made contact with some of the scratches and the newly bandaged wound. Her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him in a strong but gentle embrace when she heard him sniff. She rubbed circles on his back to make him calm down as he sobbed.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." He hiccupped.

Sakura tightened her arms around him in response.

"I am sorry, Yoshirou-kun. I did not want to give you a scare." She said gently.

He let her go and sat down as he wiped his tears.

"I need to go right now. I'll check up on you later." Tsunade said as she gathered her things and headed to the door.

"Arigatou, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said as she gave a grateful smile.

Tsunade nodded and stopped on her way out the doors.

"I need to talk to you about something, later." Tsunade said with a serious expression as she looked at Sakura.

The girl nodded in response.

Tsunade sighed as she walked down the hallway. She had yet to tell Sakura that someone from the Haruno Clan is looking for Sakura and her family. She couldn't bring herself to tell her. Her family has after all always been a touchy subject to Sakura. Plus, she was going through so much right now so Tsunade decided to inform her when Sakura was feeling a bit better.

Once Sakura was sure Tsunade was no where near the room she turned to Yoshirou with a panicked expression.

"Yoshirou, the scroll?!" she questioned as she frantically searched his face for an answer.

"Hai, I have it." he replied.

Sakura sighed in relief. The scroll was safe. The one her father had given her when she was a clueless child. Not even Tsunade or Shizune knew about it. It was strictly between the two young Haruno's to keep it safe.

"Keep it for now. I don't know what is going to happen since my secret has been revealed. The council will probably take action." She whispered as she patted his hand gently.

The doors suddenly were slid open with a bang and a few soldiers entered the room.

"Tadashi, you are under arrest by the council's orders." The soldier in the lead barked out.

Speak of the devil.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura hissed in pain as she was thrown to the floor. The guards had unceremoniously dragged her through half the compound not sparing a glance to her wounds. She weakly sat up on her shaky arms as a hiss escaped her. She was thankful that the guards had at least let her put on a yukata.

Five elders of the Uchiha council were sat at a low table. Each one of them observed the poor girl with scrutinizing sharp eyes. Some sneered in disgust and some simply observed emotionlessly. But one of them had mirth in his eyes at the sight of her beaten form.

Sakura scowled slightly at the snobby men occupying the table.

"Who are you?" one of the elders sneered at her.

"Tadashi. I am one of Uchiha-sama's soldiers." She answered obediently.

"What is your real name?" the same unpleasant man asked.

"Tadashi is my real name." she replied.

"Stop lying!" he shouted and almost got up out of his seat but the other more composed stopped him with his arm.

"What was your reason for coming into the ranks of Uchiha's soldiers?" the composed man questioned with calculating eyes.

"I wanted to serve under Uchiha-sama." She answered while observing the questioning man.

"Liar! She is a spy!" the other deranged elder shouted.

The composed man sent a glare to the shouting elder but he did not seem to get the hint and the other one joined in.

"You wanted to kill, Uchiha-sama!" the first one shouted.

"You will be executed! You disgusting excuse of a woman!" the second one continued.

"That's enough." The composed man silenced the other two.

When he was about to speak the shogi door was shoved open and a pissed off Sasuke entered the room.

"What is going on here?" he growled out.

"This is none of your concern, Sasuke-sama." Answered the composed man.

"It is of mine concern. You can't decide her punishment." He almost growled.

"We already have. She will be executed in the late afternoon." The man calmly replied seemingly unaffected by Sasuke's protests.

"She is my soldier. I decide anything concerning my soldiers." Sasuke answered with a scowl.

"She is a woman. And where in the world did she learn how to wield a sword?" the man questioned.

"A family friend taught me." She convincingly lied.

"Then he will be executed too for helping you commit a crime." A chubby elder yelled.

"Take her away." The main elder commanded.

"You dare to disobey me?!" Sasuke shouted. His eyes burned with anger once the soldiers roughly pulled Sakura up and she let out a small cry of pain. That's when he lost it. He tore the guard's arms off of her and let her down as gently as possible while kicking a guard that launched at him. He punched one in the face and kicked another one in the jaw. The others trembled in fear once his gaze landed on them. He scowled at their cowardice and turned to the elders. He thought beating some sense into them wouldn't be that bad. His fun was ruined though when Itachi calmly entered the room.

"Having fun, little brother?" Itachi smirked at the sight of some guards groaning on the floor.

Sasuke just scowled and turned to the council.

"I will beat the bloody pulp out of you." He gritted out.

"No need." Itachi said.

"This is unheard of. I will inform Fugaku-sama of this." The earlier composed elder now red from anger shouted.

"Sasuke has all the right to do with his soldiers as he pleases. You have no say in this. Or are you abusing your authority?" Itachi countered as he looked at the elders.

There was silence for a few seconds before another elder came up with something to say. They just can't stop, can they?

"This is a special case. She is a woman and she shouldn't be here." One of the snobby elders screeched out.

"Maybe you shouldn't be here." Sasuke muttered.

Some of the guards chuckled behind their hands but shut up once one of the elders shot them a glare.

"Anything concerning the soldiers is decided by Sasuke. No exceptions. Plus, she did get rid of one of the most skilled and uncatchable assassins. So you owe it to her." Itachi said.

The council actually looked thoughtful. They whispered between each other for a few minutes and Sasuke rolled his eyes. They still don't get that they have no say in this?

"Fine, we will spare your life for your act of bravery but you will no longer hold a position as a soldier of the Uchiha's." the main elder spoke.

"Thank you." Sakura nodded and bowed her head slightly.

Sasuke just scoffed at them and helped Sakura up.

"Are you alright?" he questioned with worry evident in his eyes.

"I have felt better." She replied.

He made a move to pick her up but she stopped him saying it wasn't necessary. He let out a 'hn' and picked her up anyways.

Sakura blushed but winced at the pain of her wounds.

"Gomen." He murmured and kissed her cheek.

The elders gaped in shock and Itachi smirked with amusement.

"Thanks, nii-san." Sasuke said with a smirk. Itachi nodded in response and left to have a relaxing rest of the day.

Sakura had never been that red in her life. Sasuke chuckled at her expression and continued walking down the hallway. They exited onto the porch outside and headed towards Sakura's room.

"I am glad that you're alright." Sasuke said with a slight blush dusting his lips. Sakura giggled quietly at his expression. She heard footsteps coming their way as they moved along the porch and looked up.

Her eyes widened and utter shock was displayed on her face.

The man had paled and had a similar look on his face.

"S-Sakura…?" Satoru questioned in disbelief.

"S-Satoru-oji…" Sakura questioned back.

o.o.o.o.o.o

**Hello…please don't kill me! I can't even start telling you how sorry I am for such a late update. It's been quite awhile. I've had some technical difficulties over the summer when I was out of the country. I could not review, PM, or update at all for some reason. Of course that doesn't explain why I hadn't update earlier or after I got back. I just got so busy with school that I didn't have time to write and even lacked inspiration. I hope you can accept my sincere apologies. Also, thank you for all the people that messaged me and asked when I would update. You made me feel so guilty that I just had to update. I am so happy that I can update because I have been wanting to for a while but I just had no time. I know it's not as long as you would have liked but I hope you like it. I am sure that the next update won't be as late as the previous one. Thank you for all your support and patience! You're reviews make me so happy and I grin like an idiot when I read them. ha ha Ja ne! =^_^=**

**(I was about to throw my laptop against the wall. The file I used to convert to no longer works and the website won't accept it. Sigh. But copy/paste option just saved me! lol)**


	13. Chapter 13

She knew she had relatives aside from her family and her uncle's family that resided in Konoha. She did not have much recollection of her relatives but she knew that she had met them. Any memories of them were blurred and buried somewhere in the back of her mind. She never pondered much about her relatives since she had her brother to take care of and any hope for relatives to come in search of them had been long forgotten. Of course, thoughts of any other cousins, uncles and aunts she might have had passed through her mind when she was younger. But as she grew older she realized that she did not have anyone except Yoshirou since no relative ever showed up.

But right now, with her body frozen in Sasuke's arms, she realized that there was someone out there all along. This man's mere face triggered countless memories to resurface which made her head throb. She did not care though, because Yoshirou and her certainly had someone out there. She made a move to stand and Sasuke put her down but held her by the shoulders so she would not lose her balance. Her brows furrowed almost in confusion as she stared at the man. She took unsure steps towards the frozen man but soon his features melted into a joyous smile and she was engulfed in a warm embrace.

"Sakura-chan…you're alive!" he petted her head as hugged her.

She heard him sniffle and she slowly brought her arms around his broad form.

"Oji…" she murmured and hugged him tighter. She still couldn't believe that it was her dear Oji, even though she was hugging him so tightly.

She remembered now. She would visit the Haruno Clan's residence with her parents when she was younger. Satoru would often play with her and tell her exciting stories of his travels. Despite her young age she had developed a special bond with the man and called him Oji even though he wasn't exactly her uncle. He was a part of the Haruno clan and they shared the same blood but he wasn't directly a part of her family. She felt guilty for forgetting someone so important. She couldn't be too mad though. After all, she had been just a child and the horrifying events that had occurred in her younger years quickly overshadowed and happy memories and experiences.

"What are you doing here, Oji? She questioned as he released her from the embrace.

"I came to look for your parents." He answered but his expression saddened as he looked at the young woman before him.

"Oji, they are-" she was quickly cut off as he carefully grasped her chin. She was surprised and confused but when she noticed his scrutinizing face she realized that he was looking at the scratches and bruises on her face.

"What is this? Who did this to you?" he questioned as anger seeped through his voice.

"It's nothing." She tried to calm him but he just moved to observe the bandages wrapped around her arms.

"It's not nothing." He replied.

"She was in a fight." A calm voice intruded and Satoru looked up to see the youngest Uchiha standing a few steps behind Sakura.

"What?" Satoru questioned as more anger bubbled in him and made itself known through his voice.

His eyes snapped to Sakura and his eyes almost pleaded for her to explain.

"I am a soldier here." She replied as she sighed.

His eyes displayed puzzlement and a second later he barraged her with questions.

Sakura sighed as the pounding in her head got worse.

This was going to be a long day.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Yashirou had hurriedly entered the room when Sakura was explaining the events that occurred in the past ten years of her life. Rumors of a handsome man wondering around the compound and then entering the same room as his sister had spread around like fire. He blinked as he stared at the man. Yoshirou almost scoffed. Handsome man? More like an old geezer. He would never understand the minds of women. He slowly walked to take his seat next to Sakura when she beckoned him to her side. He looked the man over apprehensively.

"This is Satoru-oji." Sakura told her brother as he sent her a questioning look.

He looked back to the man and the said man grinned.

"You sure grew up into a nice young man." Satoru said as he ruffled the boy's hair.

Youshirou made a face at the gesture and scowled. Sakura laughed at his reaction and took a sip of the green tea in her hands. She got lost in her thoughts as her uncle started telling Yoshirou about himself and their relation to each other.

She thought back to his story about the trip he had made to her real uncle's house. She still remembered the poisonous smell of death that filled the house when she had entered it. She was surprised at his calmness as he told her what he has been up to since he had come to Konoha. Despite his demeanor the anger and regret were painfully obvious in his voice. She briefly wondered if he knew about the scroll she had been entrusted with.

She was jolted from her thoughts by the clang that resounded in the room. She looked over to a cup that had fallen on the floor. Her eyes moved to the two males wrestling on the floor. Satoru had Yoshirou in a headlock as he grinned and the young one struggled. Sakura simply shook her head. Guess she didn't have to worry about them getting along.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura sat on the porch outside her room as she watched the sun rise over the horizon. A chilly breeze ruffled her pink locks as she watched the cherry blossom petals flutter with the wind. Her legs carelessly swung back and forth. She had woken up earlier than usual and decided to watch the sunrise instead of trying to fall back asleep.

The council was still not content with her being in the compound. They weren't happy with the fact that she was alive and breathing. When they started going against Itachi's orders and sending their special soldiers after her Fugaku had to get involved in the matter. They quit their attempts to get rid of her after Fugaku threatened them with being locked in the dungeons.

Mikoto and Fugaku were more than shocked when they found out about her identity. Fugaku had been furious but had taken no action due to Mikoto's pleading and logic in how much Sakura had benefitted them. She had after all killed a dangerous assassin. He had reluctantly agreed to his wife's words and had come in to defend the girl from the council.

Mikoto had been awed at the girl's bravery and display of skills. Mikoto had always been independent and a strong woman but Sakura brought new meaning to those definitions. The woman held great respect for the rosette. They also got along so easily that it seemed like they had known each other for ages.

Sakura was glad to still have her head on her shoulders. She was glad to be alive. She still wanted to do so much in life. She still had to look after her beloved brother. She hoped to become a great doctor like Tsunade since she loved helping people no matter her the indifferent mask she displayed to the world. Tsunade had always urged her to learn more about medicine since she deemed the rosette to have quite a lot of potential.

She wanted to see the place where the rest of her clan members resided. Satoru had made a promise to take her there and she would make sure he kept it. At some point he had asked her about the scroll and he had been relived to find out that it was safe. She was really curious to see what was inside but she could only find out once they were at the Haruno clan's residence.

More importantly she wanted to let the man she loved know her feelings. She wanted to be embraced by his strong arms and feel his lips on hers again. But there was still something holding her back and that was Natsumi. She knew the engagement had been canceled and she had been secretly happy when she found out. Sakura didn't know if that changed anything between her and Sasuke. She had become way too hopeful lately.

She heard soft steps resound throughout the porch and turned her head to see Sasuke silently sitting down beside her. Her lip curved slightly at the sight of his messy hair and disheveled yukata.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked as he looked at her.

"I woke up early. What about you?" she questioned as he gave a small yawn.

"Couldn't get back to sleep." He answered.

She nodded to herself and watched the cherry blossom petals flutter around them.

She had so many questions to ask of him but didn't know where to begin. Would he get mad? Would he even answer them? What if she was hoping for too much? She gathered up her courage and decided to ask a question that had been troubling her mind.

"What are we?" she asked quietly.

She noticed him jerk his head towards her and observe her expression.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Friends?" he replied. She hated to admit it but it hurt more than she expected. She lowered her head and her hair blocked her head from his view.

He grasped her hand and she looked at him.

"I want us to be more than that. There is nothing to hinder our relationship." He replied with hopeful eyes.

"What about Natsumi?" she mumbled.

"The engagement has been broken off." He replied and observed her reaction.

She freed her hand from his and stood up. Her bare feet touched the wet grass and sent chills through her body.

"You still love her." she said with a sad voice.

"I don't. I care for her but I don't love her." he admitted as he stared at her back.

Her traitorous heart beat faster at his answer, hope rising even more.

"Is this all it takes? Break off the engagement and you claim to no longer love her." she asked as she turned to look at him in the eyes. She knew she was being selfish but she had to know for her sanity's sake.

"They had ended way before that." He answered and observed her distressed eyes.

"How do I know the same won't happen with me?" she asked with a distressed expression. She almost clamped her hands over her mouth when she realized that she had insinuated aid that he loved her.

"It won't. You are different." He replied truthfully as he got up and stepped towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and cradled her head to his chest as he breathed in her sweet scent "Just believe me."

"Is this really alright?" she questioned as she listened to his heartbeat.

"Yes." He replied and felt her slowly relax in his arms as she slowly wrapped her arms around him. Despite her fears she believed him. She felt the truth in his answer.

She felt him tighten his hold on her and she looked up at him. He gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. Her heart beat faster and louder as she stared into his eyes. She noticed the warmth in them and realized what it was. Her eyes misted over at the realization. He slowly leaned towards her and her eyes started closing as a light blush dusted her lips.

Her whole body almost melted when he pressed his lips against hers. It was the gentlest kiss that portrayed so much emotion it was almost overwhelming. She breathed in his masculine scent and took time to feel his warm body against hers. She never wanted to let go. She wanted to stay in this embrace forever.

He slowly pulled away and smiled at her innocent expression. She was such a strong woman mentally and physically. She understood him and it felt so easy to be around her. She brought a sense of comfort and peace to him. She was simply amazing and he couldn't thank the Kami-sama enough for this gift.

"I love you." He confessed and watched her expression change. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly. Tears gathered in her eyes and she smiled.

"I love you too." She answered lovingly and brought his head down as she buried her hands in his silky black locks. Tears of happiness finally escaped her eyes as they closed.

She poured her all of her love into the kiss, trying to let him know what she felt and how much she meant to him. He did the same as the sweet kiss became passionate and almost desperate. They lost themselves in each other's embrace and love as the sun peaked out in the horizon and slowly rose into the sky.

"Ne, when do you think they'll have the wedding?" Naruto whispered with a grin.

Yoshirou just glared at him and muttered 'I'll kill him if he hurts her'.

"Wonder when they will get busy." Suigetsu wondered out loud with a yawn.

Yoshirou reddened as he realized the meaning behind the words and hit him on the head.

Suigetsu cursed and a mini brawl started in the bushes. The bushes shook so much that it looked as if they were possessed. All this went unnoticed by the two lovers lost in their own world.

o.o.o.o.o.o

**Hey everyone! It's been a while since the last update! I apologize! I haven't much time and then was faced with a writer's block. I know this is much shorter than usual but I decided not to keep it short and sweet you could say. The next chapter will be the last one! I can't believe this story is coming to an end. The next chapter will most likely be the same length or a bit shorter just to let you know. Reviews are greatly appreciated! :) **


	14. Chapter 14

Sakura is sitting on the porch facing the back garden as her feet are dangling off of it. Her body is covered in a light blue yukata decorated with baby pink cherry blossoms. Her now mid-back pink hair caresses the Uchiha Clan symbol proudly displayed on her back. Her hair brushes her face with the wind as the familiar sound of wind chimes fills her ears.

She observes the pink blossoms gently swirling in the wind and landing on the porch for a moment before returning to the sparring match in front of her. Her brother and Naruto are having one of their friendly sword-fighting matches again. Though this time they are using actual katanas instead of wooden swords. Yoshirou tries to land a hit but Naruto dodges with a chuckle. Yoshirou drops to the ground and makes Naruto trip over his foot. Naruto lands with a thud and shouts a breathy 'I am okay, Hinata-chan". Sakura glances at Hinata who is also observing the match beside her. The shy girl gives a sigh as she puts her hand to her chest. Naruto always comes out with some kind of injury after his sparring sessions. This time it might be a bump on the head.

Sakura looks at Yoshirou who turns his head towards her with a wide grin on his face. His hair is now longer and his eyes shine with happiness. She reminds herself that he is a head taller than her now. He will make all the girls swoon when he is older though he already has half the female population stalking him on his patrolling hours. He gives a surprised huff as Naruto tackles him to the ground while he is too observed in grinning at Sakura. Sakura giggles as the two wrestle on the grass and bites down on a stick of dango.

She savors the sweet taste as she chews and swallows to take a sip of the green tea that Hinata hands her. She sets the cup back down and leans on her arms as she looks up into the afternoon sky. It's been over a year now since she has married Sasuke. They had gotten married a few months later after his proposal in the gardens.

The whole Uchiha Clan and the police force had been shocked when they had learned of Sakura's true identity. The Council hadn't taken the news well but was soon silenced by Fugaku. He also wasn't too excited about the sudden marriage but Mikoto made him see clearly and he rather quickly accepted Sakura into the family. Mikoto was thrilled with the upcoming wedding and happily welcomed Sakura. Sakura's devotion to her son and sweet personality quickly won her over. Mikoto soon became another mother to her.

Three months before the wedding Sakura had taken a journey to her Clan's official residence with her uncle and brother. They had been welcomed back with much happiness and tears of joy. Her grandfather, who is the current head of the clan, had patted her head and hugged her like he had when she was a child as tears had streamed down his aged face. He had been relieved and overjoyed when he had heard that she and her brother had survived the terrible murder of their family.

Sakura had been taken on a tour of Haruno Clan's residence by her grandfather and had been out of breath by the end of the day. She had wondered how her grandfather didn't break a sweat throughout the whole day. The Haruno Clan residence was in the mountains surrounded by countless cherry blossom trees. The houses of the Haruno district were decorated with golden dragons and flowers wrapped in vines. The Haruno residence was peaceful yet lively at the same time. Children happily ran around the streets with the life bustling all around.

Sakura had become teary-eyed at some point. She had wondered why her parents had left such a wonderful place. They might have been alive today if they had stayed. Her grandfather had explained that her father had always been an adventurous boy as he was growing up so when he had married the love of his life he hurried to get out and see the world. His brother had followed him in order to impress their father by being independent too but unfortunately ended up as a tragedy.

Sakura remembered the day she was revealed the contents of the scroll she had protected with her life since she was a child. She hadn't been able to sleep much the night before the revelation but had been fully awake the next day. She had looked calm on the outside but could hardly sit still from the suspense she felt as her grandfather unraveled the scroll. Her brother hadn't felt much different.

The scroll had held the secret medical recipes from different sicknesses passed down from generation to generation and also the clan's infamous and unique fighting style. This information had often been the cause of attacks from different clans so that is why it was to be kept a secret and protected by the clan's successor. As Sakura had been revealed these facts she was greatly saddened by the fact that her own uncle had appointed an assassin just to get the scroll to the possible treasures of the clan. Sakura thought this information was more valuable than any kind of treasure but she doubted that her uncle expected knowledge to be the ultimate treasure of the Haruno Clan.

She had declined the position of the Head of the clan and appointed her brother as one instead. He would take control when he would come of age. She would still be allowed to make and help out with any decisions needed to be made for the clan but Yoshirou would be the official head. Satoru had taken over for now as he was one of the most trusted people her grandfather had. She was sure he would be a great leader before Yoshirou's time comes.

Yoshirou had been astonished by his sister's decision but also very honored that she saw him to be excellent for the position. Her grandfather had accepted her choice with a smile and looked forward to Yoshirou's "rule".

A few days before the wedding, Sakura had taken Sasuke to her parents resting place. She had revealed her story to him and he embraced her as she spilled her heart out to him. He held her tightly as she finally allowed her mask to break. He had promised to protect and love her and never let anything happen to her.

After the official ceremony of the wedding had ended the whole town celebrated their wedding day. Their friends and family along with the entire police force had cheered once they had exited the building where the ceremony had been held. Tsunade even shed a few tears as she saw Sakura in the white wedding kimono with the brightest smile on her face.

Tsunade had also revealed her identity as the famous warrior and was properly honored by the Uchiha family. Her name had become even more well known around the country and women were soon allowed to enter the Uchiha police force. Tenten had been the first one to join, of course with many protests from Neji.

Sakura had become less serious and her true loving personality had soon made an appearance. She turned out to be the most loving and sweet girl, which is often said by Mikoto. Sasuke had fallen in love with her even more and cherished her like she was his treasure.

Sakura was brought out of her reverie when Naruto breathlessly dropped in front of Hinata and put his head on the girl's lap. Hinata lovingly patted his head and he slowly dozed off. Sakura heard shouts and turned her head to see Tenten and Ino rounding the corner with giggles. Tenten held a katana and Ino some kind of map as they ran on the wooden porch. Neji and Shikamaru soon breathlessly rounded the corner as they chased after their wives.

Sakura jumped slightly as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. She smiled when Sasuke lovingly kissed the side of her head and she sighed as she leaned into his chest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he snuggled his cheek into hers.

"Wonderful." She replied as she giggled and rested her hands on his.

He gently rubbed her stomach and she looked down when she felt a sudden movement.

She stared at her six month protruding belly with surprise and Sasuke's movements halted when he noticed it too.

"Sakura…" he said unsure as he met her eyes with surprise.

"The baby moved…" she replied breathlessly.

He smiled in return and cupped her face as he gently kissed her.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she lovingly caressed her stomach.

"You will be a wonderful mother." He said as he embraced her tighter.

She smiled and shyly kissed him on the lips.

Naruto cracked an eye open and mumbled a 'Get a room, you two.'

Sakura didn't hesitate to thump him on the head. She still had her infamous temper.

o.o.o.o.o.o

**Hello, my wonderful readers! Well, this is it! I thought it would be longer but I decided to wrap it up this way. Thank you for sticking around for so long and for being so patient. I hope you enjoyed this story! I would like to thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and alerts! You all really encouraged me! I have some many ideas for new stories that I don't even know where to start but hopefully I will soon be posting a new story! Thank you all, once again! Ja ne! =^_^=**


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